WalkON! All Over Again
by JR Salazar
Summary: Sequel to "Walk-ON!" K-ON! time paradox fic. A story of Ui Hirasawa, and her forays with Sakuragaoka High School's light music club.
1. Back In Black

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 1:**

**Back In Black**

* * *

The months of January, February, and March in the year of our Lord 2010 came and went, along with the bitter cold of winter, across the skies of Tokyo and of Japan. With it came the dawn of a new school year, full of promises, potential, and hope. Never before was such a point in time that much critical for the members of Hokago Tea Time, the official band of the Sakuragaoka High School Light Music Club.

The five members—Ui Hirasawa, Mio Akiyama, Ritsu Tainaka, Tsumugi Kotobuki and Azusa Nakano—had been together for one year. It was the idea of Ritsu, who played the drums, to revive a club whose advisor, Miss Sawako Yamanaka, was a former member. At first, Mio, the bassist of the group, thought it to be an idea straight from hell, an idea that simply would not work. But it would.

It took the chance entry of Tsumugi, an expert pianist and keyboarder, to revive the hopes of the club gaining their chartered status once again. She brought to the music room refreshments to energize the souls of the musicians day in, day out. And days would pass before they would finally get their fourth member, Ui. Another year would pass before they finally got their first member, Azusa.

The daughter of jazz session musicians, Azusa was often a lab rat victim to Miss Sawako's cosplay outfits but looked often to Ui and Mio as role models. Those two may not have fulfilled expectations, but there was something about those two that made her happy. Mio was like an older sister. Ui made her feel welcome, like a lost kitty in need of a home. It was this motivation that would make Azusa and Ui a guiding force in unleashing the melody behind the band's songs.

From summer retreats, to gigs, to study sessions, the members of Hokago Tea Time were a team. They were the best of friends and the strongest of soulmates. They were there for each other, in good times and bad, willing even to die for one another. But now April came like the cherry blossoms that fell to the concrete and asphalt of the city streets of the city. Ui, Mio, Ritsu and Tsumugi were set to be seniors. Azusa would only be a sophomore. The future and direction of the light music club hung in the balance, and it would be up to all of them to see where this would go. It was the year of the Tiger, and HTT was set to earn its stripes...all back in black.

Motivated beyond all belied, Ui got up early in the morning to internalize the circumstances that await her. Armed with her trusty weapon, Gitah the Guitar, she passed by boutique shops, supermarkets, the train station, the bridge overlooking the Sumida River, and other points of interest near the school. It was an hour before the orientation for new students, and there weren't a lot of student on campus yet; just a handful.

Walking towards the main building on campus, where the bust of the school founder greeted all passers-by with its stoic and resolute expression, Ui had a wide smile on her face. The sakura trees dotting the school were swaying a little as its petals began to fall to the ground. Springtime had never made feel this upbeat in her life. Ui still wondered how she was able to do join this club two years ago. It originally was meant to be a way to make her younger sister happy. Not long after, it became much more than an act of appeasement. She embraced the fact that she walked into one of the best times of her life as a high school student. And she was wearing her sister's hairdo. Gone was the ribbon. In were the hairclips. It was a new hairstyle that Ui embraced all the same, and she had no plans whatsoever to change it back.

Ui went up the stairs to the music room, plugged her guitar to the amplifier already inside, and pondered something to play while tuning up and finishing a little toast and strawberry jam. "No, that won't work," she said after playing the first few notes of Hawaii Five-O. "Still won't work," she remarked after playing a stanza from Walk-Don't Run. "Gee whiz, I suppose I will go with a little bit of bread and butter to kick this final push for glory off. I've always wanted to integrate a little Pete Townshend windmill to my style of play. Here goes nothing, I guess."

And so she proceeded to play "My Love Is a Stapler," whistling the vocals and integrating the windmill at the end of the chorus and the bridge, as well as the coda. Ui threw in a little ad lib to put some soulfulness into it. "Oh my gosh; I'm up to something here," she remarked. She could sense that the other four members were heading over to the music room. She probably figured out that they knew she was here by now. Some kind of wonderful telekinesis.

"Ah, there you are," Ritsu said to Ui. "Working a little of The Who into your guitar diet?"

"Hmmm..." She pointed at her and then clapped her hands. "Nicely identified. 100 points to Ms. Tainaka on this Monday, April 5!"

"But I have to ask you this, why are you doing it?"

"See, here's the thing: we're slated to perform to the new freshman at the Welcome Concert. I figured that it was time for me to introduce to them a little bit of Pete Townshend's windmill strum."

Ritsu grinned with the others. "Nice idea."

"Ui-sempai," Azusa noticed, "you're early, too."

"I got here as soon as the gates opened," Ui explained. "With the new school year finally here, I thought, okay, I gotta prepare early while I can."

"What about your younger sister?"

"Oh, Yui? She's probably dragging herself to class by now. She'll be fine."

"Did you eat some toast today?" Ritsu asked.

"Another 100 points. I forgot to clean up after myself." She produced a paper napkin. "I apologize." Into the wastebasket it went.

Ritsu waved it off. "Not really needed, Ui. Not really needed." But it was the thought that counted most.

Ui proceeded to give Azusa a heartily sempai-esque glomp. "Azunyan, baby, baby, baby oh!"

She was struggling for air. "Ui-sempai, what's with the Justin Bieber reference?"

"Everything! Congratulations on becoming a sophomore, mah darling!"

"I can't breathe, sempai; I can't breathe! Urgk! And for what? What were you saying?"

Ritsu was one to notice. "Azusa, you're a soph, and you haven't changed much in the past year."

She was shocked to hear the news, and took offense to it. "Ritsu-sempai, you're the last person I want to hear that crap from, you heartless bitch!"

"Hoity-toity..."

"Mou!"

"By the way, I was talking about your height."

"That doesn't matter! I still take offense to that. And you were looking at my boobs, you sick perv!"

Mio and Tsumugi looked at each other and exchanged chuckles of sympathy. "You know something, Mugi?" Mio said to her blonde socialite confidante. "Ritsu hasn't changed one bit, even in her third year."

"Not a bit."

Ritsu struck a battle post to the team. "All right fellas! Now that we are all here, we're gonna do some practicing!"

"Roger than, Ricchan!" Ui said, raising her left hand skyward in agreeance.

They all got their instruments out, ready to go. Some background in the form of a few tunings of the tom-toms and snares, to go with some pitch checks on the strings of Mio and Azusa, were in order.

* * *

"I think the sky is the limit this year, I really do think so," Ui remarked.

"Why do you say that?" Ritsu asked, testing her snare for any consistency issues.

"Ladies, the future is now, and we are the crossroads. Now more than ever, this club must make this year the most successful yet in its long and storied history."

"How do you know this club has a long and storied history?"

"The archives in the music room. This club's history goes way back to 1967, the Summer of Love."

"Wow, I didn't know that. The tradition continues, I guess."

Ui gave a thumbs-up. "Amen, sister!" The band jammed for an hour on their favorites, as well as played a few new songs in the line-up. Among the new numbers included Mio's "Hello Little Girl," a piece by Azusa called "Jajauma Way To Go" and a song written by the Hirasawa sisters called "GO! GO! Maniac."

"That was a good hour of jamming," Ui said to the crew as they made their way downstairs. "Time flies when you're having fun. So I've heard."

"You bet," Ritsu said. "You know, I never ever saw this high a level of enthusiasm from you."

"And you know something?"

"Spill the beans."

A flowery tone came from Ui's lips and clasped hands of wonderment. "We're older than the other classes! This is awesome. So, dearest Ricchan, dearest Mio and dearest Mugi...what should we do as seniors?"

"Taking it a bit easy will work wonders for you. It's only the first day of the new school year, you know that, right?"

"Perhaps."

"I mean, we don't want you to die from overworking yourself."

"Ricchan, I hate you."

"I knew you were kidding."

"I know."

"So what if I did this?" A little hair adjustment with her right bangs aside. "Bam! I now have my clips to the left side of my bangs. I now got the gal look. How's that?"

"I don't think anything will have changed doing that, Ui."

"That looks quite different," Mio said, "but only appearance-wise." She, Mugi and Ritsu shielded their eyes.

"Oh my fucking God," Ritsu said in disbelief. "That is...that is...!" A pause. "...That is too hard to tell."

"Denied," Mio added.

"Aw, fuck you all!" Ui shot back. "Bastards." She reconfigured her do back to the way it was before walking back with the others. "Hmph! I swear, man."

* * *

The rest of the seniors squeezed in the change lockers to take a closer look at where they would be assigned. Some were heading to class 3-3, others to class 3-4, some to 3-1 or 3-5. The administration of the school decided to shake things up a little. Azusa would be in another part of the campus to find where she would be among the second-year students. "Hey Ricchan," Ui asked, "you got a prediction as to where we will be assigned?"

"I'm calling for Mio to be assigned to a different class again," Ritsu predicted.

"Ooooh."

"Oh God, please no," Mio said for fear of loneliness.

"Don't worry, Mio-chan, you'll be all right," Tsumugi assured.

The drummer in the rock band with the hairband was up in arms. "Son of a bitch, this is news that would make the headlines overnight!" Ritsu exclaimed. Mio was scared. Was she going to be alone again? "Actually, we bring you a special bulleting regarding that news. That news is old news because to tell you the truth, there is no news. And that is good news."

"Are you sure?" Mio asked.

"It's news. I'm positive of it. The news, that is."

Mio put a palm to her forehead in frustration. "Dammit, I wanna go home...this'll be the death of me."

"Hey Ricchan," Ui said.

"Sup?"

"I'm gonna go check."

"Go ahead, señorita!"

"¡Sí!" And so she did, weaving her way past the other students to the front, bumping into a book bag in the process. Ui got a close look of the list, separated into two columns. Mio Akiyama at the top of the left-hand column, Ritsu Tainaka at the top of the right-hand column. Ui was at inside the right column, and Tsumugi was inside the left. She grinned as a bolt a lighting escaped her brain. "Hallelujah."

She returned to the back, where the other three were waiting. "News flash, Mio and Ritsu: we will all be in the same class!" she said, striking a victory pose and a thumbs-up. "Class 3-2 is the official home of HTT!"

"Holy friggin' crap!" the others exclaimed.

"For real, Ui-chan!" Tsumugi said. This was breaking news worthy of the headlines.

"Yeah! How about that? Excuse me a little bit."

"You're excused," Ritsu said.

"Excused," Mugi added.

Ui went to grab a tissue to address her runny nose. Mio couldn't believe that her loneliness was going to be subsided today.

"Isn't that awesome, Mio?" Ritsu asked. "We'll be in the same class our senior year...huh?" She noticed Mio's bemused expression turn into unadulterated relief.

"Hallelujah; I will never be lonely again!" Mio cried, doing a poor Scarlett O'Hara impersonation.

Ritsu was nonplussed at the spectacle. "Gone With the Wind. Frankly, Mio, I don't give a damn." Mio didn't change one bit regarding her crybaby tendencies, either. Nor did her fear of anything that scared her subside. She didn't make any effort to overcome either. It couldn't be helped. "At least try to act tough, you pathetic crybaby."

"This is something that I learned from somebody who knows somebody who knows something about this," Tsumugi said.

"That's a whole lot of somebodies," Ritsu remarked.

"It's called a network."

"I gotcha."

"Anyway, here's the deal: when you combine scissors and paper with your hands like this, you form a triangle!" She demonstrated.

"Impressive." Really, though, Ritsu was anything but impressed. She had to play along.

"Hey guys,* take a look at this!" Ui exclaimed, dragging her good friend. "Jun is with us too!" Apparently she forgot to look at the bottom of the list, specifically the bottom of the right column, which had Jun Suzuki as the name.

"Could you let go of my arm?" Jun asked.

"Cool!" Ritsu said.

"I think this class is going to be a little bit rowdy."

"But a really great one at that," Ui added. "Hail, hail, the gang's all here! Except for Azunyan but she's a different story."

"You know, I wonder if the administrators decided to do this on purpose because they were at our concerts at the auditorium," Mio said. "If that's the case, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised."

"Definitely," Tsumugi added, "It's quite a coincidence, and a serendipity-doo-dah!"

"Oh Jesus H. Christ," Ritsu said in her growing suspicion, "could it be..." They turned to Jun. "That you convinced the admins to place us all here as the Student Council President?"

"Absolutely not. I don't know of anyone in our council who would pull that off..."

The door opened. In came Class 3-2's home room teacher, Miss Sawako. "All right class, please take your seats; I'm here to call roll."

Ui, Jun, Mio, Ritsu, and Tsumugi were in awe. It was Miss Sawako that set it all up. "There is a God!" the five of them exclaimed.

* * *

"My name is Miss Sawako Yamanaka, I will be your homeroom teacher this year," she said. "It is a pleasure to be working with you in helping you achieve your goals and graduate from this wonderful school. I would like to note that prior to today I was solely the instructor for the music period, but this is the very first time I have been assigned to this class since I first began teaching here, so I might have some trouble remembering everyone. Please bear with me."

"Yes, Miss Yamanaka," said the class, bowing.

"I will note that I do know some of the students in the back." She winked at the five sitting next to each other. They all turned.

"Gee whiz, it's the light music club!" whispered one student.

"We are, like, so lucky to have Miss Yamanaka for homeroom!" whispered another.

"Double-lucky!" said a third.

"She's beautiful and is kind."

"I see."

Ritsu peered over to the three conversing. "Don't be fooled by how she looks. She is trouble. She's actually..."

"Tainaka?" Miss Sawako asked.

"Yes?" She was straight as a stick.

"Please refrain from talking when I am addressing the class. You can talk to your classmates when this period is over and we have our break, okay?" She tilted her head and placed a finger to her lips for emphasis.

Ritsu slunk back into her seat with a defeated expression. "I'm sorry, Master!" They all laughed.

Later on after homeroom, Ritsu saw Miss Sawako heading down the stairs from her music class. "Miss Sawako!"

"What is it?"

"Sawa-chan, a question." Ritsu was with Ui, Jun, Mio and Tsumugi. "Did you do something to pull off this class assignment?"

"Good question. As a matter of fact, I did. I put you all in the same class."

"So you can do those types of things, huh?" The others were in awe. "Isn't that exercising your power a little bit too far?"

"Actually, we are allowed to as per the rules of the school. Shouldn't you at least be thankful?" she asked with a pout.

"Well we are," Mio clarified, "but still...it's unusual for all of us to be in the same class."

"What's also advantageous is that there's five less names for me to learn because I know who each and every one of you are."

"So that's how it's done," Ui inferred. It was a serendipity forged by someone all too familiar. "But that's great! I'm fired up! Thank you, Miss Sawako!"

"My pleasure."

"Easy there, pardner," Ritsu said to Ui, placing an arm around her shoulder. "Again, it's only the first day."

"Are you kidding me? We will all be together during out last year of high school! How can you not be all fired up just thinking about this?"

"Well, being together is important," said Mio, "but taking a look at our career plans is just as important."

They all bowed in shame. "Thanks for spoiling the mood, Mio," Ritsu said in disgust.

"You're most certainly welcome."

"But anyway, we'll be together for the school field trip and the culture festival," Ui noted, "I can tutor you guys and likewise..."

"Like you need any tutoring," Ritsu interjected.

"Can I finish what I was saying?

"Go on, go on."

"...and I can rip off your notes if I forget to replicate my own as a safety net. Note that the latter is what Yui would do, but I brought it to the forefront as an example."

"What was the last one?" Jun, Mio and Tsumugi asked, tilting their heads to the right.

"I am so F-I-R-E-D U-P!" Ui said, doing a disco dance.

Sawako looked at her watch. "The opening ceremony for the freshmen starts soon. Let's head over to the auditorium."

"Yes, Miss Sawako!" the others said.

"See you, Miss Sawako," Ui said.

"Aw jeez, do I really have to go to the ceremony?" Mio groaned.

"Are you kidding me? We're seniors! It's your duty!" Ritsu hollered back, already ahead of the others as they walked to the auditorium. Mio groaned, trundling behind.

"Yes, I'm Back in Black!" Ui said, singing to her iPod.

"Settle down Ui!" Mio shot back, a consternate look complimenting her exasperated mood.

Miss Sawako looked on with a smile on her face. So far, so good. This was going to be an eventful year with the five of them as part of Class 3-2. No one on campus, not even her, would figure that by year's end 3-2 would be the shining star of the third-year classes at Sakuragaoka High. It was a treasure chest waiting to be opened.

* * *

The glistening glow of the cherry blossoms welcomed the students of the school who entered the auditorium, not knowing what to expect from the next 12 months that awaited them. Ui noticed a straw cluster of petals lying in the alley that connected the auditorium with the main building. She decided to pick it up and place it in her pocket before rejoining the others. This was her good luck charm. Ui was a believer of superstition and the belief in something bigger than anyone making the plans, calling the shots, putting the pieces together. It was that type of mentality that kept her motivated for the next phase of her life.

Sakuragaoka High School was established in 1923. It was one of the oldest schools in Japan, and the alma mater was a special project of its first-ever senior class. It was written jointly by the nearly 200 men and women who were the first to leave its grounds with a diploma and was dedicated to the students who would came after them then, those who would come now, and those who would come in the future. From the freshmen, to the sophomores, to the seniors, faculty and staff, everyone remembered the lyrics by heart.

* * *

_Looking towards the clear blue sky, we give our thanks to you,_

_In pursuit of our hopes and our dreams, to mater we'll be true,_

_All your sons and daughters dear gather round to strive_

_Under the fragrant cherry blossoms of Sakuragaoka High._

_From the peaks of mountains tall who watch upon your name,_

_The spirit of charity, faith and hope are alma mater's fame._

_We live to learn and learn to live, for the future's nigh_

_Under the watch of alma mater, dear Sakuragaoka High!

* * *

_

Sakuragaoka High was divided into two campuses: a girls' campus and a boys' campus. The boys' campus was located next door to the girls' campus. Both boys' and girls' athletics programs shared the same facilities; however, the all of the facilities were located on the girls' campus by agreement. Those who graduated from Sakuragaoka would have on their resume a note that they graduated from Sakuragaoka Boys High School or Sakuragaoka Girls High School, depending on gender. Ideals-wise, they were one and the same. However, the campuses were separated by gender. Indeed, the first 200 students who graduated comprised of 100 from the girls' high school and 100 from the boys' high school.

* * *

Azusa Nakano looked skyward, humming the melody of a hymn stoked by the fires of festival rite. "Life is wonderful. Such is life," she said, Yui Hirasawa and Nodoka Manabe following close behind.

"Hey Azusa, you feel ready to take on the world again," Nodoka noticed. "What's going on?" Yui was snacking on some Pocky.

Pumping her fists, her answer was resolute. "I have never felt this motivated in my life—not just for my school, but for the need to bring in new people to the club."

"Ahh, so that's what's going on," Yui said, still munching.

"Hell yeah!"

"I like it! I love it! I want some more of it!" Nodoka had to laugh at Yui's response.

* * *

By the time they returned to 3-2, Ui was pondering what to do with the 30-ish clusters of blossoms she picked up off the ground. Taking a tablet, with nothing to do, she proceeded to draw a diagram of a cherry blossom magnified 10 times from up close. Jun arrived to check on her diagram-drawing partner-in-crime "Hey Ui, just how many blossoms did you grab?" Jun asked.

"30-ish."

She was beside herself. "THAT many!"

"Pretty much."

"What are you going to use them for, may I ask?"

"Hmmmm. Good question. I don't know yet."

Jun put a palm to her forehead. "Good luck figuring that out. Anyway, I'm going to be heading to the student council meeting. You take care, all right?"

"Sure will. I'm going to practice for the Freshmen Welcome Concert before calling it a day."

"I do hope you find some new members."

"I really don't mind stay the way we are now."

"You sure about that?"

"Positive."

"Azusa's gonna be the only one remaining once you graduate, you know."

"That's true."

"You have to keep that in mind, Ui. There will only be one of your guys once the four of you graduate."

"But we'll do our best. Have fun at the meeting!"

"You got it." And Jun was off. Ui had to internalize the new set of circumstances that awaited the four of them.

As she went up the stairs to the music room for afternoon practice with the club, she took a look at some flyers, inspecting the detail, the color, the way everything was constructed. From the volleyball and tennis teams, to the tea ceremony club, every organization had their own scheme of doing things.

"This one's for you Azunyan," Ui said, striking a pose. "Hooyah!"

* * *

Back to business inside the music room. "Ladies and...ladies, I guess," Ui said, clearing her throat as the convocation prepared their instruments and Tsumugi got the tea and cakes ready, "it feels good to be back." Cakes, cookies, and caramel flan floating on sweet chamomile against the blossoms were on the house.

"You know," Ritsu said in her latest live anecdote, "I had this urge deep inside my you-know-what..."

"Your you-know-what?" Mio interjected.

"Yes, my you-know-what and—by the way, quit interjecting me—it told me that in spite of spring break, head up here to do some rocking. It kept coming, and coming, and coming."

Tsumugi placed her palms over her cheek, her eyes sparkling. "Did you hear that, Mio-chan? She said 'come'!"

"Oh, get your mind out of the gutter!"

"I also had the urge, too!" Azusa said.

"All right, with that said," Ritsu said, "the first order of business for the new term is..."

"Getting new members?"

"...to eat Mugi's cake!"

Azusa nearly spat out her tea. "What the fuck does that have to do with anything!"

She waved it off. "I kid, I kid. You know how I am."

Azusa knew her too well. "Jesus H. Christ, be a bit more serious about this, will you?"

Ui was deep in thought, her slanted eyebrows pursuing the question. "When we are on our game, we are on our game, and no one is going to stop us. Azunyan's got a point, Ricchan."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ritsu wondered.

"She will be all alone if we don't get any new members."

"Thank you for pointing that out, mistress of the obvious."

"I agree with Azusa regarding the lack of members," Mio inferred while stroking her chin.

"However, Azusa, you'll be the president of the light music club next year." She produced a poster of Azusa donning a "President" sash, with rays of yellow and orange behind her, and a message: "AZUSA NAKANO. YES WE CAN!"

Azusa was not impressed with the attempt of flattery and blinked. "It doesn't matter if I'm the president or not! We just need new members!" But Ritsu and Mio knew that for a fleeting moment, Azusa was coming to terms with the possibility, the inevitability, and the formality of it all. "So, everyone, let's go ahead and recruit new members, okay?" Tsumugi and Ui couldn't believe that she was changing the subject at the drop of a hat.

Something came to Ui's mind. "Ah, that reminds me. I made some new fliers."

"You're kidding!" the others exclaimed, bewildered.

"Have a look." She distributed some test leaflets to the four. "What do you think?"

"These might look good," Ritsu said.

Mio agreed. "Let's give 'em a try!"

It was back to the animal costumes for the light music club. Again, Ritsu was the dog, Tsumugi was the cat, Ui was the chicken, and Mio was the horse. In a rare twist...Azusa donned a pig costume.

"Here you go!" Ui offered a freshman. "We are the light music club." She walked by them instead.

"Um, guys?" Azusa asked. "Why am I in a pig costume?"

"You are the Keion-buta, the Light Music Club pig," Ui said.

"The hell I am! This is embarrassing! And I don't get it."

"A pun on Keion-Bu (Light Music Club) and buta (pig). Hence, Keion-buta."

"I see. Whatever, then. Let's just hand these out."

"Dammit, you're no fun."

"Hmph!"

There were a host of students passing bay the quad. The club made its appeal. "Come to the Light Music Club!" they all said.

It was a fruitless venture as they returned to the air-conditioned confines of the music room. "No one's coming," Tsumugi said in disappointment.

"Is it just me, or do I get the feeling that the club will disband after graduation?" Ritsu wondered.

"Azunyan is going to be all alone," Ui added.

The thought of it all scared Mio to the core. She envisioned Azusa in the dark, holding a lantern in her own melancholy, saying, "Sempai...it's so lonely down here..." She gasped and cowered in a corner. "Noooo! Azusa~~~!"

"We're not gonna let this club disband!" Ui said.

Mugi agreed. "Amen."

Ritsu crossed her arms. "Prez!" Ui, Mugi, and Azusa said.

She continued to immerse herself in thought. "You're right...hmmmm. More members will mean a bigger budget."

"Oink, oink!" Ui said, holding her nose for emphasis as to imitate the Keion-buta agreeing with her.

She did her best Jim Carrey impersonation. "All righty then! Let's begin our next plan to grab some new members!"

"Oink, oink!"

"Will you quit doing that!" Azusa complained.

"Sorry, I had to."

* * *

Down the hall, a couple of girls were chatting amongst themselves. "So, Mai, there's this one hot guy at the boys' campus that I'm head over heels for."

"No way! What class is he in?"

No sooner had the conversation started that Ritsu fell over. "Are you all right?"

Ritsu's eyes sparkled like flickering lights in the twilight. "Um, hey guys, can you join me at the music room?" They dragged her upstairs.

Mio opened the door. "Hello there."

"It's all right; take it easy," said one of the students helping Ritsu to her seat.

"Th...thank you," Ritsu said. Her mood changed. "And with that...welcome to the Light Music Club." She spun around, and out popped Ui and Tsumugi.

"Sign here, please!" Ui said, holding an application.

"Would you like some tea?" Mugi offered. "We have cookies!"

The two would-be applicants both fled for the hills of the first floor. "You may want to dump that guy when you're done!"

"I will!"

Ritsu made a note of the phase. "Collapsing Passer-By Plan: Failure. Make a note of it."

"Roger that," Ui replied. "Hell, we are gonna be in for a grueling campaign. Too early to throw in the towel, too."

"Derp, excuse muh tah botha yuh," Ui said 15 minutes later outside the room to passersby, "kuhdyuh teller muh wer duh myoosuk rum erse?"

"What the fuck!" Ritsu said. "Why the hell is she speaking like she's an old hag from a trash trailer stuck in the back of Appalachia who hasn't showered in a year!"

"I don't know," Azusa responded, "why do you ask me?"

"Oh great, now they're giving her directions to the place," she observed as the would-be applicants gave Ui directions. "Smooth move, ex-lax."

"Tch...you'd better believe it!" Both of them knew this part of the plan was doomed. "She must have huffed some lead before doing this."

Ui noticed the two of them peering at her with cold stares. "Whoops. Uh bloo muh kuhverr."

* * *

An impish grin came out of Ritsu's face with Ui and Azusa looking on in their track outfits. "Next up, team, is the HTT Eavesdropping Plan. It can't fail this time!"

"And during the provisionary period, we'll see how other clubs recruit their members,' Azusa added.

"Let's see what happens," Ui said.

"Greetings all, and welcome to the first meeting of the judo club for this term," the club president said. "In judo, soft techniques often overpower brute force. The goal of judo is to hone the skill and polish the spirit."

"Yes!" the students said.

Ritsu looked on with an interested expression. "I see...so that's how they do it. Speaking to their hearts."

Ui's eyes sparkled like diamonds. So much for that! "Maybe I should join the judo club!" she exclaimed to Ritsu with a squeal. Azusa could not believe the possibility of the club breaking up in the first week was there for the offing. Granted, Ui would make a good judoka and would no doubt be a nice fit, but it seems to the other two that she was taking the judo club's precepts a bit too seriously. They came for the fleece, but Jason and his cheeky Argonauts beat Ritsu and Azunyan to it.

* * *

Back at the Goban club, it was all about demonstrations, demonstrations, and demonstrations. The club presidents placed a piece on the board. "'Go' is the universe," she said in a dark narrative. Azusa, Ui and Ritsu were in awe, but that was about it. They left with a knowledge of the game...and a big question on their mind: "Was that a waste of time or what?"

* * *

Sakuragaoka High had its own tea house. The three of them ventured to the Tea Ceremony club to find any ideas to jump start their membership.

"Here you go," the president said in her yukata, offering a cup of hot matcha, freshly prepared. "Enjoy."

The three took a sip. "It's a bit bitter, but this is pretty good," Ui said to Ritsu. "Ricchan?"

* * *

Ritsu was traumatized from the bitterness of the ingredients. "Have mercy, Miss Percy; I want to die in a ditch." Azusa was able to stomach the contents too, but for her it was a acquired set of dynamics after sending it down the hatch. But they all agreed on one thing: Tsumugi's green tea was far better. Albeit, it was a valiant attempt.

And so it was back to the hall for more practice and scrutinizing. "Not a bad Magical Mystery Tour so far," Ui said, checking the list of remaining destinations. "We got treated to some fine tea, learned the ways of goban and judo, and tried a couple of vain attempts at bringing in new blood to the club. It's not bad."

"Not bad?" Azusa said sheepishly. "That's terrible!"

"That, too..." Ui took notice of a sign. "The Supernatural Club," she read. "How about we take a look at this, Ricchan?"

"Sure, why not."

Ui opened the door. "Excuse our intrusion!"

"Anybody he~~~~re?" Ritsu said. "Said my old friend Abraham."

"Will you quit it with the Dion puns?" Azusa said with a nonplussed face. All they could see were flying saucers and hanging planet mockup mobiles in a dark, dark room. No one was in the vicinity. The club had adjourned for day the before they could get there.

Back at the music room, it was back to checking out the flyers for all the others clubs available. In fact, they had picked the whole place clean. Already this would be a starter kit for a scrapbook of the different organization that would be chartered that term.

"Talk about getting in the spirit of things, eh?" Ritsu said to Azusa, inspecting the detail of the Dance Dance Revolution.

"Too right," she replied, taking a look of the rugby club's flyer.

Ui concurred with the consensus opinion as she looked at the text of the basketball club's flyer. "Absolutely!" She proceeded to grab a package of Pocky on the table and munch idly. Just one way to ease her stomach's woes.

"I realized that one gives out extra swag."

Ritsu nodded. "Hmmm."

The door opened. "Welcome!" Azusa, Ui and Ritsu chorused. It was Mio and Tsumugi. 0 for 1.

"Ah drats, it's you two animals," Ritsu said in a bored tone. "A lame horse and a stray cat."

Holding her paws for emphasis, Mugi in her cat outfit said, "Guess what? We handed out more of these!"

"More of those?" She meant the hugs.

"Yep!"

"So how'd you guys do?" Mio asked.

"Bah, we came up well short of the mark. This was go~~~nna be a dra~~~~g, misery," Ritsu sang. "But why the hell are you guys in those get-ups again?"

"That takes guts, man," Azusa added. "Major guts."

The door opened again. "Welcome!" they all said in chorus.

It was Miss Sawako. "Oh, it's just Sawa-chan," Ritsu said. 0 for 2.

"Is there a problem?" Sawako asked.

"None, really."

"All right. Well, what are you girls planning to wear for the Freshmen Welcome Concert?"

The choice was a no-brainer. "We'll wear our school uniforms!" they all said.

Naturally, Sawako had other ideas. She presented one of them. "How about a frilly maid uniform with a miniskirt?"

Mio was adamant in the club's decision, telling it right to her face. "We said we'll use our school uniforms!"

"You guys are too shy. Come on, it'll look real cute on you."

The door opened again. "Welcome!" they chorused.

It was Jun. "Oh jeez, it's only Jun," Ritsu said. 0 for 3.

"What's up, guys?"

"Hi," they said with a tired tone that spoke of bemusement.

"Are you trying on your concert outfits?"

"No, we actually made our decision to go with the school uniforms," Mio said.

"I see. All right then. Now, about tomorrow's Freshmen Welcome Concert...here are some details we have to go over. You guys will be performing last because several alums and yours truly will be giving speeches."

"Cool."

"We can only allow you two perform four songs at the concert because of time constraints. Have you guys decided what to play?"

"Yes, we have."

Jun took a look. "That looks good." She proceeded to give the club some extra information regarding the plans for the concert before tomorrow came like an autumn wildfire over the West Hills of California.

"Holy Daughters of El Kabong, we are at it again," Mio said, looking at the order of music she had presented to Jun. "This looks like a song order that we should be able to handle." Mio presented the order to Ritsu and Tsumugi, who didn't get a chance to take a look because she handed the original to Jun. This was a copy.

"We have ourselves a fresh new song off the four walls of the music room," Ritsu said. The song was "I Can't Stop the Strawberry Parfait," written and composed by all of the members.

"First up is 'Stapler,' then 'Fude Pen', then 'Parfait', and the traditional closer 'Fuwa Fuwa Time,'" Tsumugi said, reading. "Not a difficult set to do. This will be the first time we turn the third number in this lineup loose. Can't wait."

"Mugi," Mio asked, "for this song, 'Parfait,' I need you to emphasize the keyboards and your pitch because you will essentially be the lead vocal in this number."

Azusa peered in to check on the conversation as Ui listened to the fifth track off the seventh album from AC/DC. "Oooh, oooh, Mio-sempai, can I have the lead guitar part for that song?"

"Azusa, Ui already knows that you want this number, so, yes."

"Awesome!" That was the intention of Azusa Nakano: to join the Light Music Club after the Freshman Welcome Concert last year. Now she got her chance to welcome the new blood entering the girls' campus. The hope for Ui was that someone would follow in all of their footsteps and keep the tradition of the club alive before it became dormant again. Ui nodded and smiled, acknowledging her beloved kouhai's commitment to doing her role in the club right and well. At the same time, she saw the chance of the club gaining new members to be 50-50. Everything was going to weigh next year on Azusa and perhaps the commitment of her younger sister to try this club. Yui, at the most, would be part of it for one year. It would be a transitional phase. The club really needed freshmen to secure its future for the long haul.

"Hey, what are you doing, Ui?" Ritsu said.

"Ladies of the light music club, I chose to delve myself into deep thought about the sustainability and continuity of this esteemed student organization while listening to 'Back In Black' by the Melbournian rock band AC/DC."

"Ohhhh," the others replied.

Azusa looked at her watch. "Hey guys, time to head to the auditorium, the concert is about to begin!"

"Got it!" Ritsu said. "Our future lies on this performance!"

"Yeah!" echoed the others.

* * *

And so it was business as usual inside the club's stomping grounds...the Sakuragaoka Girls' High School Auditorium, where, on occasions, groups from the boys' campus also performed. "Mike check, one, two, three," Ui said, testing the microphone with a few taps before giving a thumbs up to Jun. "It works." She turned to the audience. "Freshmen of Sakuragaoka High, we welcome you to our humble home. We are the light music club and we are honored to perform for you this afternoon."

The new students applauded. Miss Sawako, standing in the back, pouted in defeat. She still couldn't believe that they chose not to consider her maid outfits, which would have been a total hit with the freshies. In fact, some of them would have broken their cameras out just to get a better view.

"Our band is known here as 'Hokago Tea Time', or HTT for short. We have cake, tea, and snacks during our meetings, as well as practices and jam sessions. Now, I didn't mean strawberry jam, I meant music jam sessions." Ritsu gave a little tap of the skins and brass as the crowd laughed. "Most of all, we really have a lot of fun playing our music together, so we hope that after class in the Music Room, you stop on by and say hi." Azusa nodded. "And if you have a talent for playing guitar, bass, keyboard or drums, we hope you give it a try and join the Light Music Club! Let's show you what we can do with our first number, 'My Love Is A Stapler.' Ready?" she asked the members, who nodded as if to say, "Yes, ma'am." The audience applauded.

The cadence gave way to the trademark riffs, and the proceedings began in earnest.

"Nodoka-chan, let's go!" Yui Hirasawa said 30 minutes later, dragging Nodoka Manabe to the auditorium.

"Damn! They already started! I hope we can make it on time," she replied, her glasses glinting in the sun above the Tokyo skyline.

Yui saw Ui do the Pete Townshend windmill routine the closing number as the fans gave a standing ovation. "Now that is awesome. Rock on, onee-chan!"

Nodoka was slightly bemused. "Well I'll be darned. Your older sister just made fools out of all us once again."

Later that day, Ritsu downed a bottle of water like it was ice-cold Budweiser. "Now that hit the spot. That was a great show you guys!"

"Most definitely," Tsumugi said.

"The combination of Azusa and Ui on the interplay was just what we expected," Mio added.

Azusa was overjoyed by the news. "For real! Man, that's great!"

"Ui's already calling it a day," Tsumugi added "so she's reduced to a gray moeblob in the corner down there."

As for Ui, she was feeling rather gray. "Oh. My. Fucking. God. I am out of gas, and I feel like I got no job, got no spouse, got no friends, am living life on the lam, haven't showered in a year...I might as well be a malediction's delight right now."

Mio had a more definite description for Ui's state. "You feel like you can use some sleep. And some food and water."

"And a 5 Hour Energy Shot!" Ritsu chimed. Up came a headbump. "The hell! What was that for?"

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Captain Obvious!" Mio shouted.

"Oh come on, Mio, I'm not the captain, I'm the president and my name is Ritsu! R-I-T-S-U!"

Ui continued to sing the blues her tongue sticking out like a dead dog in hot heat. "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen, glory hallelujah..." It's a good thing Yui knew how to order delivery for food using the landline at home.

"Hey, don't just sit there and sing cheesy American spirituals, Ui-sempai!" Azusa said.

"It couldn't be helped, Azunyan. It couldn't be helped."

"Let's go hand out the fliers now!" she said, dragging her out of the room.

Ui's stomach growled. "I'm so hungry..." Yui was likely going to have to order a little bit extra on the delivery later that night.

* * *

The next day after class, it was back to the usual agenda at the light music club, with cake and tea and all the fixings courtesy of one Ms. Tsumugi Kotobuki.

Azusa pondered like a bored cat on the fact that they failed to get any new members to join the club. No one likes to see their efforts die in vain, but this was the case for the group as they lounged like lonely kittens in a cold, dark office. "Nobody's coming," she said to the others.

"So much for that!" Ui said with a sigh, reclining back on to her seat.

"Well, we still have some time to bring in new members," Mio replied, keeping her optimistic outlook intact.

"I suppose you're right," Azusa said, getting up.

"Are you passing out more fliers?" Mugi asked, getting up as well.

"No, just to the restroom," she said.

Ritsu looked on with a troubled look on her face. Something else was up. But she decided to nip it in the bud for now. "Should we try these flyers again?" she asked Ui, Mio and Mugi.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt, but why isn't anyone coming?" Ui wondered, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling and the fans hanging from it. "I even made the door as welcoming as possible and gave it some signs so that others will be attracted to it. Makes you wonder, huh?"

The four of them nodded silently when the door opened. Azusa was breathing heavily. She was holding a winking and waving frog that was part of the entrance, with lipstick and makeup and its tongue sticking out. "Ui-sempai! Put this piece of shit away!" The frog was wearing a necklace that had a fish swallowing up a fat lady that was chasing her stick-thin husband.

"Huh? But that is a piece of artwork that you see from bands like Veltpunch! And the frog panders to the fans of Mikoto Misaka too!"

"For Christ's sakes, we're not Veltpunch; we're Hokago Tea Time dammit! We're more refined than this! And Misaka-san has nothing to do with this either!"

Ui placed the frog in a corner of the room, next to the piano, pouting. "You're a party pooper, Azunyan. I hate you."

"So now it's back to square one," Ritsu said to the others inside the music room.

"Quite a drag."

* * *

Lunchtime at Class 2-1 saw Yui dine on her favorite combo: nori-wrapped sushi, omelettes, ham with olives, salad, deli sandwiches from the co-op and a few slices of takuan for added crunch. Outside of the sandwiches, Ui made it for her.

Azusa fell in with Yui and Nodoka inside the classroom. "There she is," Nodoka said to Azusa and she took her seat. "Welcome back."

"Hi, Azusa-chan," Yui said.

"Yo," she said to the other two.

"So," Nodoka asked, "how are things?" Azusa sighed before drinking some of her juice. "I take it they haven't looked as good as you thought they would be." She nodded. "No new members, huh?"

"Nope. Is it just me, or is light music really that unpopular here on campus?"

Nodoka thought about it. "Hmmm. Good question."

"No way!" Yui said. "Who told you that?"

Azusa turned to her fired-up peer to her left. "Huh?"

"The Welcome Concert was awesome," Jun said. "You guys did great."

"Me and Nodoka-chan talked to some of the freshmen after the concert because we had missed most of the show," Yui explained, "and they said that they loved it."

"For real!" Azusa exclaimed.

"I think of it this way," Nodoka said, unleashing her inner Socrates. "The five of you look so tight-knit that it really looks tough to join. You guys have been performing so long together that it would have to take a new group of students to carry on the club's tradition. If any freshmen tried to join the club, their thought is that they would be rejected immediately because of the elitist mindset that they perceive is going on. Now this is just my opinion, but some of the freshmen I personally talked to had that impression that this was going to be a great show, but a tough sell."

Azusa's legs and feet got wound up in their own personal state of nervousness. "You...think so?"

"You guys look like you are having fun down there, onee-chan too," Yui said.

Her fists clenched a little tighter in quantified nervousness. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Or another possibility is this, Azusa," Nodoka said. "Everyone—from the freshmen to the sophomores to the seniors—already figured out that this club is doing its own thing off the deep end."

Azusa was scared by that possibility. "Ehhh?"

"Nodoka-chan, that's mean of you!" Yui said, pointing at her.

"I was just messing around. You know how I am."

"You're just like Ritsu-sempai in a way," Azusa noted.

"And you're the first to actually tell me that. Oh, Yui, the omelet your sister makes is out of this world! Thanks for sharing!"

Yui giggled in triumph. "Eheheheh...want some more?"

"Please! Thank you!"

"Eheheheheh."

As for Azusa, she internalized the possible rationales behind the lack of interest to heart. The fact of the matter was this: they weren't getting any new members, and it was deep into April. They should have at least garnered one new member by this point. If the explanations were true, the dynamics of the club and the way it does its business needed to be overhauled.

Or maybe Nodoka was just kidding regarding the negative vibes. It didn't take long for her to go that route instead and smile with a blush as Nodoka feasted on some of Ui's specially make omelettes.

"So we still have no members, huh?" Mio asked the club back at the music room, this time with Miss Sawako lounging over tea with flan, reading "The Sun Also Rises."

"I know, man," Ritsu said, her head bowed down on the table.. "That sucks, doesn't it?"

"It sure does," Ui added.

"But why?" Mio pondered.

"You think we scared the little boogers off somehow?" Ritsu asked. "What do you think?"

"You gotta be kidding me!" Mio said. "No way!"

Now it was Tsumugi who was the optimist. "I'm sure things will work out, though. Okay?"

"I hope so," Mio said, smiling. Ui looked at the sign that had her illustrations and the words "Welcome!" etched out.

Ritsu piggybacked on the optimism. "All right, let's think about our next plan to bring in new people! How about the 'Bug-Catcher In The Fry' plan!"

"What kind of plan is that!"

"We use a bug catcher to catch new freshmen, and we offer them fried chicken as a bribe!"

Tsumugi weighed in. "The hell is that gonna work? We're not gonna get anybody that way!"

Ui smiled, looking at the instruments. She knew that it couldn't be helped, and that in reality, the club had 12 months to bring in new members, rather than just 12 days. "Hey guys, I have decided that I don't mind us staying like this for a little while longer." The others were stunned of Ui's answer as Azusa slowly trundled up the stairs to the music room. "We can stay as we are for now. I can bet you that this club is going to soldier on without us, without our need to recruit." Even Azusa was shocked to hear the answer. She didn't want to come in, and opted instead to hear was Ui had to say. "You see, when we gather here like this—I should note that Azunyan isn't here yet, but she will be—we have tea together, we practice together and perform together. Every one of us. We did all we could, guys. There is nothing more we can do. Let's just leave it to the Fates to do the recruiting for us. I bet you, they can do this a million times better than we could ever do in our lives."

"Well said, Ui," Mio replied.

"I guess we're just going to have to accept that we won't get any new members this year," Ritsu added.

"You know something, guys?" Sawako said.

"What is it, Sawachan?"

"12 months isn't a lot of time. Trust me."

"You sure about that, Miss Sawako?" Ui asked. "There's 365 days, though. Well, take a few days now. Oh, by the way Mugi, what's today's snack?"

"Ah, I'm glad you asked," she replied. "Chocolate, orange, strawberry, banana, hazelnut, and vanilla buttercream cupcakes, custom-made by my house's pastry chefs. Enjoy."

Azusa had a smile on her face. Even she knew that recruiting was going to be a lost cause for now in spite of the brave attempts.

"Cool!" Ui exclaimed. "So guys, take your pick."

"I'll grab this one," Ritsu said, grabbing one laced with orange slices.

"I think Azunyan's going to want the one with the bananas. The shit is. She ain't no hollaback girl, ain't no hollaback girl!"

"Gwen Stefani reference?"

"A-ha! Nicely identified." Azusa clutched her bag. Ui read her mind.

"I got dibs on the hazelnu~~~ts!" Sawako said.

"I'll get the chocolate one."

"Vanilla for me!" Tsumugi said.

"I'll have the strawberry one," Mio said in her shy tone.

They were all digging in now. "Man, this is scrump-diddly-umptious!" Ui said as Azusa entered, stunning her and Ritsu. Ui tried to save face. "Sorry we forgot about you! Let's hand out some fliers!"

"Mugi-sempai, can I have some milk tea?" Ui was stunned to realize that her mood had changed. "And the banana cake. I also side with Ui in the band staying as it is this year."

"Azunyan..." The others were impressed by her change in her mood. The club morale had been restored to a healthy level.

Just before she was about to get glomped, Azusa turned to Ui. "Ui-sempai, I'll be stricter this year."

"You will?"

"Yes. Get your guitar out." Now there's a way to take the initiative.

Ui turned to an invisible camera in the corner and winked. "You know something, ladies? I think the future of this club is safe." She screamed to the heavens. "There is a God!"

* * *

**END CHAPTER 1**

A/N: This was a transliteration of the lyrics from the first episode that I did myself. I did add some extra stuff to it to make it flow with the melody.


	2. Moneytalks

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 2**

**Moneytalks**

**

* * *

**

Tsumugi Kotobuki was a forward-thinking socialite of 17 years. Born into one of the richest families in all of Japan, her wealth and affluence exposed her to many different sites around the world. She had been to London, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Berlin, New York City, Los Angeles, Sydney, Toronto, Amsterdam, Athens, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Moscow, New Delhi, Singapore, Dubai, Auckland, Vancouver, Osaka and Tokyo...and all of this by the age of 17. She had met new faces, sampled different cuisines, and brushed up on her foreign languages. Her dream was to earn a degree from the University of Tokyo, Meiji, Keio, Waseda, or Japan Women's University as a safety net.

But it wasn't as if Tsumugi needed to be accepted into the safety net. It was written in the stars that Mugi would earn a sufficiently high mark on the entrance exam to be enrolled at the University of Tokyo's College of Arts and Sciences with a degree in the Performing Arts. She had it all planned out.

For the time being, it was back to cleaning the blackboard after Miss Sawako's latest class on English concluded. The Westminster chimes rang over Sakuragaoka as if they were pealing their tune from the skies.

"Hey Mugi, we gotta go," Ritsu Tainaka said to her.

"You're gonna have to go on without me," she replied. "I need to hand in the class journal and all that stuff."

"Awww," Mio Akiyama said, walking over to her. "You're on day duty today? Man, that sucks."

"Actually, Ui-chan is." She pointed to Ui Hirasawa, reclining back at her seat, watching some students do a flashmob routine below while listening to her iPod.

"Sup guys?" Ui said. "Mugi decided to do the work for me because I had done it the past week. I said, 'Are you sure?' She said, 'Yeah.' Hence." And it was back to her melancholic state.

"I see," Ritsu remarked.

"To be honest," Mugi explained, "she's been in a reflective mood since lunch. I don't know why."

She was shocked. "Gah!"

"I was trying to ask her why her mood was like this," Jun Suzuki explained, "but she said 'No comment.'" She turned to her friend. "Hey, Ui? Your friends are here to talk to you."

"Hey Ui, snap out of your funk, will you?" Ritsu asked, shaking her as Himeko Tachibana looked on in wonderment.

"Oooh Yui, you naughty imouto, massage me harder..."

"Gah! She really is a lost cause! I am not Yui! Snap out of it!" Ritsu continued to shake Ui again. "Ui! We've got practice, a concert! You need your guitar!"

Ritsu, Mio, Jun and Tsumugi had an idea. "Ui, we have cake!" For a moment, Ui snapped out of her funk, her hair in a mess.

"Eh? There's no cake," Ui said. "Ricchan, I only see your shirt, and it's not made of cotton candy. Liar. You fail."

"What?" Ritsu exclaimed, bewildered. "What are you talking about!"

"Excuse me while I opt to hit the sack, you heartless fucks." And so Ui slept. Rarely did the band see Ui this disgusted.

"Crap! Mugi, get a real cake!" Ritsu said to Tsumugi.

"Roger that!"

Unfortunately for the four of them, Miss Sawako entered the classroom. "Tainaka?"

"Y...yes?" She was scared, Ritsu was.

"I'll take my leave, Miss Sawako," Himeko said.

"Take care of yourself," she replied back. "Now then...guys, could you return the animal costumes back to the music room? I talked to the drama club earlier today and they said that they need them."

"Costumes?" Mio asked. She turned to her irresponsible drumming partner-in-crime in the back. "Hey Ritsu, did you forget to return them?"

"Oh, those things? Well, we used them to recruit new members, and we placed them in the storage room."

Her voice was straightforward. "You're gonna have to bring 'em back."

* * *

The others and Miss Sawako, save for Ui, could not believe the clutter inside the storage section of the music room. Badminton rackets. Bowling pins. Dart boards. Baseball bats. A soccer ball from the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Books and magazines. Cords. Dolls. Props. T-Shirts on a rack. A piggy bank. A miniature Christmas tree. A boom box, and an amplifier. Posters, rolled up into tubes restrained by rubber bands. And every sort of knick-knack imaginable, packaged in boxes stacked atop of one-another.

"What the fuck is this?" Sawako asked.

"I'm sorry," Mio replied.

Ritsu had her hands on her hips, whistling. "All right, let's take a look here. The animal costumes should be...somewhere here." She pulled out the dog costume, but didn't expect everything else to fall over in the process. Ouch. It's a good thing the piggy bank didn't get broken.

Ui rose from her desk, stretched and went down to one of the vending machines. Strawberry Pocky. A hit. Reclining on a wall outside, she slowly savored the coated pretzels, wincing at the sun shining from on high. "Bright day today," she whispered to herself. Sighing, Ui continued snacking before rejoining the others.

Himeko Tachibana was a kogal and a fashionista. She liked to shop around Shibuya when Sunday came calling. She wasn't one of the brightest in Class 3-2, but did reasonably well in her subjects. Many peers fawned over her piercing eyes, long brown hair and dazzling smile. Himeko fawned over Ui Hirasawa like a dog on a leash. She had every photo, every type of merchandise and every picture that bore her image in her bed room, and she could not go to sleep without moaning her name through tears of lust while lying on a dakimakura that had her without any on.

Like the members of HTT, Himeko had her own group of acquaintances that she chatted with in Shibuya and nearby Ikebukoro. One of the restaurants in Ikebukoro, Owl City, was owned by Mami Honda, a good friend of Himeko. Honda was herself a good friend of Ran Kotobuki, a notable personality in Shibuya and current police officer. Ran was a cousin four times removed of Tsumugi. Apparently it wasn't just the corporate sector where Mugi's family plied their trade; it was also law enforcement, and both branches of the extended family did their job very well.

* * *

"All right fellows, we're gonna have to do something different today," Mio said. "We're going to do some spring cleaning."

"Well this will be fun," Ui said, elbowing a disconsolate Ritsu.

"Quit making that disgusted face, Ritsu."

Ritsu went over to her drum set. "All right. Let's practice hard today!"

UI concurred. "A change of plans?" She was about to walk to her guitar when Mio called them both back.

"Do you really not want to clean up this place?" Mio asked, her body language speaking of disappointment.

Ritsu made it clear. "That's because...I hate cleaning more than the three meals of the day!"

"As an aside," Ui said to Mio as she put Gitah back in her case, "Yui shares the same mindset, so I literally have to do it every day—before I head to class, and after I come back. More so the latter."

"Have better sense than that, damn you!" Mio said to Ritsu.

"Besides," Ritsu added with a pout, "we already have janitors at this school who do the organizing, as well as the other clubs to do it if the janitor's not on the premises, right?"

Ui thought about it. "It's about taking the initiative, though."

"There are," Mio said, "but there are a lot of personal belongings, so we have to do this. I like your mindset, Ui." She nodded.

"There's more than a lot," Azusa said as Tsumugi helped her organize the materials. "Try wide load. It's all personal stuff down here."

"You're right," Ritsu said, her tone of voice changing to a more authoritarian style.

"Be careful with Kero," Ui said to the two of them.

"Go ahead and grab it. Let's put these away." She picked up a box as Ui followed her inside the storage room.

"Go figure. I thought I already put it away."

"Hey you two!" Mio exclaimed. "Don't put those two back in there!" The two of them backtracked and put them out where they were before.

"Take two," Ritsu said, putting aside her blazer as Mio tied her hair back. "Guess I got no other choice but to put a little elbow grease into it."

"But there's a lot of stuff to put away," Azusa noted. Yes, there way.

"That's because we used this as our personal storage whenever we needed to," Tsumugi replied.

"So what's with this pile of stuffed dolls anyway?" Ritsu asked. It was a pile of stylized lemons, a purple duck, a computer monitor with arms and a brown stuffed head.

"Ah, I copped up 200 yen for the computer monitor," Ui said. "I forgot to give it to Yui. That was for her."

Ritsu rolled her eyes. "I didn't ask you." She picked up a lemon. "Here, pack this in your bag and take 'em to your sister."

"Hmph. And away I go." She took the lemons a star, and a beige caricature head to her bag.

Ritsu found another caricature head with a big nose and thing, dangly arms in the pile. "You forgot this, sunshine."

"Oh, that's not mine though. I think it's Mio's," Ui said as she crammed her contents into her book bag.

"Mio's, you say?" Mio grabbed her plush and quickly walked over to her bag with a nonplussed expression. "How nice! A bitch with bad taste! Nice going, you fuck!"

"Now I bought this coffee maker," Tsumugi said, taking down the glassware for it, "but for some off reason we haven't used it yet."

"I see, so we're going through the china cabinet, too," Ui said.

"While we're at it, absolutely."

They set all the china down on the table. "Damn, these things must be expensive," Ritsu said.

"So, dearest Mugi, how much do they cost?" Ui asked.

"Well, I'm not sure how much, but my sources tell me that Belgium's royal court uses the same type."

The response from Ui was straightforward. "Son of a bitch..."

She almost dropped the box when Ritsu was there to catch it. "Don't break it, you idiot! Goddamn!"

"You know something Ricchan? I could use a trip to Brussels right now."

Towels were drying outside as students were conversing with one another. Outside, the softball team was playing a scrimmage between the first and second year students, with the third-year students coaching. As for the light music club, a great of the clutter was resolved.

"Good progress so far," Azusa remarked over lunch.

"However," Mio added while looking at the remaining piles, "there's a lot of personal stuff that isn't ours."

"I think this might be from a previous Light Music Club, like the one Miss Sawako was part of," Tsumugi inferred. "They must have had more members."

"I see," Azusa said. "So this used to be a club that had structure."

"Take a look at this, you guys," Ui said, lugging a large, silver case. They all turned. "I found something awesome."

"Oooh," Ritsu replied, "It's an expensive-looking case." She opened it. "Is there something valuable inside?" She and Ui blinked.

"Holy cow...A guitar." Ritsu closed the case.

"This one is quite old," Azusa said, "but it might be a good one."

"I wanted something more fun, like a dead body or something," Ritsu said in a monotonously, walking away with Ui.

"Kind of a drag," Ui said.

"This is the Light Music Club, so you two pricks need to take this seriously dammit!" Azusa exclaimed as she carried the guitar.

* * *

The door opened as Miss Sawako Yamanaka entered the room. "Oooh, I haven't seen this baby in years," she said.

"Miss Sawako!"

"So that's where this was. Hmmm."

"Is this guitar yours."

"Yes, it is. But I only used it sparingly."

Azusa's ears perked up, and her eyes sparkled. "So you were in the light music club in the past right?"

"That's right. Didn't I tell you this already."

"I sometimes have short-term memory, so I'm not sure if you did or didn't. I knew it!"

"Ahhh?"

"Here's the thing: I watched you cameo at the Culture Festival last year, and I thought, did she play for this club when she was a student? Man, Miss Sawako, you're awesome!"

"Thanks a lot. You know, I haven't in quite a while, but I like to think I'm still better than Ui. But I'll tell you this: she's getting to my level, and fast," Sawako said with a wink.

"Whoa! Can you teach me some more when you have the time, Miss Sawako?"

"Absolutely."

Ui showed Azusa a photo of Sawako in her Death Devil days, replete with enough makeup and highlights to make a man's nose bleed. "This is Miss Sawako when she was a member of the club. Cool, huh?"

Azusa reconsidered her decision. "I'll withdraw my request after seeing that."

"The bloody hell!" Sawako exclaimed with a pout. "I swear, you all make me sick!"

"Miss Sawako, we decided that we are going to take our entire personal belongings home with us," Ui said, offering her teacher her guitar. "Here is yours."

"Ehhh?" She held on to the guitar, and her face contorted. "Geh! It smells moldy. I don't have any time to play this one, though. And I have to clean this one."

"So what are you going to do with the guitar?"

Sawako placed it back in the case as Ritsu and Mio continued to refuel. "I plan to sell it and place the money from it back in the club's budget."

Tsumugi was moved and Ui was impressed. "Great!" Ui said. "More funds coming to us. It's not bad."

"Wait a minute," Mio said.

Ritsu was equally stunned. "She told us without telling us!"

Azusa, however, was the most conservative of the group. "Miss Sawako, isn't this a good guitar? Why would you sell it?"

"A friend of my father gave it to me, but it might not be worth much in its current condition," Sawako said. "And if you can really sell it, this guitar will be happier with someone who will want to play it. It's not too difficult to comprehend."

* * *

Ui had to lug the bad boy down to the pawn shop. "Man, this smells. Is this a guitar or a skunk? Christ Jesus Almighty peoples, I've been carrying this damn thing the whole fucking time!"

"That's what happens when you lose jan-ken-pon three times in a row!" Ritsu said.

"Thank God my family does not believe in violence, else this thing will be heading towards your head!"

"You all right down there?" Tsumugi asked.

Ui was also carrying a heavy bag of her possessions. "I've also got a wide load of stuff in my bag that I'm carrying on my chest."

"That's also your fault," Mio said sympathetically.

"Heartless bitch..." She caught up. "At least I'm getting my arms and abs in shape."

"All right," Tsumugi said. "Who's up for another round?"

"I won't lose to you guys this time."

"Bring it," Ritsu said. Tsumugi also wanted in.

"Are you trying to act like kids or something?" Azusa asked.

"I am officially a kid!" Ritsu said, turning back the clock ten years by flipping the switch on her pitch. "Nyah ha hah!"

"Well grow up, then! Jeez!"

A bird passed by. "Whoa! I saw it!" Tsumugi exclaimed. She formed a V with her fingers. "Is this how you do 'ken'?"

"Yes, but you're not supposed to say it out loud," Ui said. Azusa could not believe that Ui and Ritsu were flipping the time machine switch in the middle of the afternoon. But she decided to play along for the heck of doing so. Every one of them was going to carry the old guitar anyway.

"Hey Mio, join us," Ritsu said.

"Jan-ken-pon, baby!" Ui said, egging the shy bassist on.

Mio was looking at an ad. "Take a look at this."

"Ah, that must be the ad they were handing out," Ui said. The ad was for a Fresh Spring Life Support Sale. Shelf: 2,980 yen. Tabletop: 4,780 yen. A cupboard for 1,980 yen. The list went on and on.

"I think we should have something like this in the storage room."

"A shelf?" Ritsu asked.

Mio went on as the others took a look "See, it would be easier to organize things if we got one like this."

"True," Azusa replied."With the club budget we have, we should be able to cover the price of these items for sale." By the way, Ui lost the bet...again.

The store was full of flowers and other decorations going at a premium. Many of these items were imported from out of country. That wasn't what the band was looking to obtain. They needed some hardware, and some new furniture.

"So this is where the furniture is located," Mio said. "More choices, more savings. That's the power of The Home Depot. So I've heard."

"Whoa, so this is what a hardware store looks like!" Tsumugi exclaimed.

"Of course it is, Mugi," Ui said. "You haven't seen anything like this before?"

She clasped her hands with a deep blush. "They have a lot of useful items here, right? Like light bulbs in all different sizes, and *electrical tape in rainbow colors!"

"Possibly," Mio said.

"So this is your first time at a hardware store, huh Mugi?" Ritsu said sheepishly to her blonde keyboardist friend.

"Oh yes," she replied with sparkling eyes and clasped hands, "and I've always wanted to go to one. Finally!"

"Dang, she's fired up for this one," Ritsu said to Mio.

"Whoda thunk?"

Mugi turned to the aisles like a princess ready for battle. "Let's go!"

"Whoa, slow down Your Highness, you need some company!" Ui replied, following her.

* * *

"Hey Ui, don't forget the guitar!" Ritsu said.

Ui was already far ahead of the other three. "You grab it!" Ritsu had to pout.

"Oh my, oh my, oh my," Tsumugi said, looking at the different typed of cooking utensils with Azusa following her. "My goodness, this is beautiful!"

"You know, I never knew that you were fascinated with such stuff as this," Azusa said.

Mugi pointed to a graying compound hanging on the rack. "Take a look at this! It's putty for fixing holes in a wall."

"That's right."

Mugi held up a couple of packages in both hands. "And here's some tape to bundle up old magazines."

"So are all these things really that fascinating to you? I don't get it."

She was too busy to listen as she was inspecting an orange and yellow polishing stone. "So if you polish the faucets with this, they will sparkle...I wonder if this really works."

Azusa's eyes caught something that might actually be of use. "Mugi-sempai, here's something for you."

"Hmmm, a cake cutter that splits a cake into perfect eights..."

"This looks like an umbrella at first."

"Are you sure this actually cuts the cake correctly?" Azusa and Tsumugi took their time examining the item. They would go on to buy it.

"Hey you guys, take a look at this!" Ui said, leading the two of them to piles and piles of nuts, bolts, screws, nails, washers and other fasteners made of stainless steel. "My sister would be fascinated by all these screws on this rack."

"Do we really care?" Azusa wondered.

"All screws, baby! Woooo!"

"Yes, they are."

"So pretty...is what my sister would say."

"Your sister has a screw fetish?"

"She has a fetish with anything that turns her on."

"And this is one of them?"

"Yep."

"Your sister has no life."

"I know. Wait, what?" Ui pouted before both of them laughed it off. She proceeded to grab a holster and a drill. She placed the drill in the holster as if it were a six-shooter. "Now this is cool." Ui held it out and pressed it while speaking with a twang. "Bang! Everybody, don't move! This is a stick-up!"

Azusa's voice was plain enough to not be amused. "What the hell is she trying to do?"

Her surrogate older sister Mio was wondering the same thing. "Dammit, I have no idea."

"This is an electric screwdriver," Ui said. She kept firing. "Bang! Zip! Pow! Rimshot!"

"Calm down, will you!"

"But you're supposed to be dead. Oh, and by the way, this is what Yui would do."

"Gee whiz Ui, do we really care about what your younger sister would do with an electric screwdriver? And on top of that, that's dangerous!"

"Then why the hell are you doing it!"

"It's what I call a 'What Would Yui Do?' situation."

"Oh, for crying out loud..."

Ritsu had a construction hard hat with a light attached.. "Ui is acting like such a brat, even though it's completely staged." She turned to Mio and turned her light on, blinding her for a bit.

"Look who's talking, you freak! Take that thing off, dammit!" Mio struggled to yank the hard hat off.

"No! Please don't!" But no repentance was going to save Ritsu from Mio's wrath.

"Stop touching stuff that you don't need, Ritsu! Now take this thing off!"

Azusa was disheartened by the Mitsu Comedy Pair going on next to her and had a disgusted look on her face.

"Hey Azunyan!" Ui said.

"Now what is it?" She couldn't believe it. Ui was wearing an electrician outfit.

"This outfit is really comfy," she added. "I'm really just trying this out, for the heck of it."

"I think it's a bit too big for you."

"You think this would make a good concert outfit? We can even write 'Hokago Tea Time' on the back."

Azusa thought about it. "I don't think Miss Sawako would let us wear something as masculine as that. We're Hokago Tea Time, not Hell's Angels."

* * *

In the end, the club's members chose to have a shelf installed in the music room. "All right, thanks a lot. Talk to you soon," Mio said to Sawako on her mobile. "Guys, Miss Sawako said that we can have the shelf installed."

"Good idea, Mio," Ritsu replied, filling out the paperwork by the registers. "We'll go ahead and have this baby delivered after class tomorrow."

"Where are the others?"

"They're there."

"They are?"

"Positive."

"Hmmm. Ah, there's Mugi."

Tsumugi had two large bags of materials purchased. "Sorry I took so long," she replied.

"Gah, holy cow Mugi!" Ritsu exclaimed. "This is a hardware store, not a department store! How much did you friggin' buy!"

"A little bit of everything."

"Son of a...dammit!"

As for Azusa, she decided to hang around an aquarium that was full of turtles, fish, and other sea life. One of the turtles decided to say hello. "A turtle? Waving at me? Soft-shelled. Must be a terrapin. No wait, that's not it..."

Ui went to glomp her. "A~~~zunyan!" Her fingers were going places again as they pulled the strings and unbuttoned the buttons. Azusa began to sweat profusely through embellished heaves and sighs. "What you looking at, my dearest kitty?"

"Nya! What are you doing! Ahhh, ahhhhh, quit fingering me in public!" The good thing was that no one noticed or cared. The turtle's nose was gushing blood, suggesting that he was enjoying this. Mugi was seeing this from afar and just had to smile.

"Whoa. Now that is a really cute soft-shelled turtle." Sighing, Azusa was able to get her uniform and tie back into shape, a few seconds removed from the mess that was Ui's shameless foreplay.

"Cute? And are you sure this really is a soft-shelled turtle?"

"Out of all the soft-shelled turtles, this one is something Yui will fawn over for quite a while." The turtle went to swim back with the others.

"There you go again with your 'What Would Yui Do' reference. Sheesh. And the sign here says, 'pig-nosed turtle.' It's not the same thing."

"You know, this is so cute, it make me was to stick peanuts into its nose. well, that's what Yui would do."

"Your younger sister really doesn't have a life."

"I know. Wait, what? That was mean of you," Ui pouted. This time, they just smiled at each other. Eventually, the turtle would also be purchased.

Later that evening, the girls went to 10GIA to sell the guitar. Ritsu snapped Ui's jan-ken-pon losing streak by having to carry it the rest of the way from the hardware store. "Son of a bitch, I can't believe that I lost four straight times to the rest of you bastards. Damn you all!" Ritsu cried to the heavens. "Urgh!"

"Now, now," Mio said, "At least you got your body in shape."

"I wasn't asking for your consolation, woman!"

"All right, all right, I was only trying to help."

"It's all about the scissors, beeyotch!" Ui said, flaunting the V. Ritsu relied too much on the paper. Apparently, when the night fell, games weren't won on paper.

"Let me make an estimate on this guitar," one of the employees said.

"Thank you," Mio replied.

Tsumugi was shining a spoon from her two bags of purchased utensils and hardware using the stone. She was in awe as the spoon sparkled. "Ahhhh! Oh my god, it works! Thank you, Jesus, for this miracle tool!"

Azusa was looking at some photos on the wall of different bands and concert tours from the past. "What you doing, Azusa?" Mio asked.

"I was wondering how we would sound like if we had this many members," she replied, referring to a group by the name of Girl7 that had seven members.

"It would be a night to remember, that's for sure. I wish we had this many people, too."

"All right," the employee said, "I have an estimate ready." Mio and Azusa quickly rejoined the others. "Thank you very much for your patience. I would like to buy this one for ¥500,000." That was about $5,941.46, or €4,614.81.

Mio was shocked. Almost traumatized by the amount. Actually, they all were. "¥500,000!"

* * *

The four of them had bewildered expressions on their faces. "Um, is there a problem?" the employee asked.

"Thank you very much," Mio said. "All right."

She was about to march out when Ritsu called her back. "Hold it right there."

"B-b-b-but...5-5-5-5,000,000 y-y-y-yen...derpderpderp!" A teary-eyed -Mio was blubbering, blabbering, sobbing and stuttering like a lost child on a cold, dark, and damp Saturday night in Ginza with no food, no shelter, and no chance at getting a life for once.

"Mio, I want you to quit talking as if you are a lonely weeaboo loser posting image macros on 4chan, all right? And quit adding an extra digit just to get your weak-ass point across." Never before had Ritsu been forced to play the mother in an about-face of roles between uke and seme.

"Thanks a lot," Mugi said, taking the cash from the employee.

Ritsu turned to her in shock. "You should be more shocked about this, dammit!"

"By the way," Ritsu whispered to the employee, "why the hell is it so high? Are you just trying to pander Mugi?"

"On the contrary, my friend," he explained. "We don't make estimates based on family connections to this store whatsoever. We do it based on the make and model of the guitar and a list of prices associated with it that we have on the premises. This guitar is a Gibson Les Paul from the early 1960's. At the time, there weren't any standards for the shape or materials. Many different designs were tested before they settled with the standard you are accustomed to today. The way that this is crafted and made makes this a highly valuable guitar. The fret board is made of jacaranda, a tree prized for its wood and acoustics. This is one explanation for its high price. The tail piece for this guitar, however, has been switched, and so it was devalued for not being an original design. Had it been this way, this would have been bought for about ¥600,000 at the minimum. The stock tail piece provides better playability and is preferred by most of our customers here at 10GIA. So it's not too much of a deduction. You also told me that this was shelved for a very long time. The scratches and wear-and-tear are minimal, which means that this is a very well-kept guitar for its age. Thus, I gave you the price of ¥500,000. In short, it's a valuable guitar!"

They all nodded. They got the point.

Back at Max Burger, Ui dived into a burger stacked with layers of hamburger, spam, cheese, potato croquettes, eggs, lettuce, tomato and tofu. "Damn, you think you can finish that?" Ritsu asked.

"Of course," Ui said after downing a big bite of the specialty on the house.

"That's a thick pile of cash for the club," Ritsu said as she examined the width of the stack. Two centimeters.

"And this, too?" Mio was referring to the boatload of fries. "Ritsu, you are hungry as heck!"

"Of course," she replied triumphantly. "I ordered extra-large!" Ritsu offered the envelope. "Keep the change!"

Mio was shocked. "You asshole! Did you use the money!"

"Actually, it was out of my own pocket." Ritsu had to be honest here; else she would be flying into the wall behind her.

"But should we really keep this?" Azusa asked.

"Hey, Sawa-chan told us that we have to use this for club purposes only."

Ui agreed. "Oink, oink!"

"Stop that!" Azusa shot back. "But still..."

Ritsu offered the cash. "You see, if we split this five ways, it's 100,000 yen each!"

Azusa's eyes spiraled out of control. "I've been eying some effect pedals for our guitars."

"There you go."

"Azunyan got sold out on the idea," Ui said to the others as she continued to finish her burger and fries.

"Idiot!" Mio exclaimed, "Quit showing off the cash and put it away!"

"Take a look," Ritsu said. "100,000 yen for you too..."

Mio decided to think about it and play along. "For 100,000 yen, ah, I know. Bass multi-effects and a new amplifier. Fund it."

"I've got my eyes on a double-pedal, and a floor tom-tom. Boom, baby!"

"I think I'll use my share of the money to slap Yui silly because she gets a high out of that," Ui said. "She'll be saying, 'More! Harder! Faster! Better! Stronger! Yes! Yes! Yes!' Something like that."

Tsumugi looked at the others, who had dark intentions on how to improve the club's instrument lineup and how to stimulate a younger sister of one of the members. "Um, guys, are you all right?" They had intentions, all right. It was just a matter of Miss Sawako giving the approval. Of course, it also had to be approved by the student council, since this cash was property of the school.

* * *

"Is this Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus?" a burly truck driver from the hardware store said as he parked on the curb the following day, where the club waited. "The sign says 'Sakuragaoka Girls High School.' I hope I'm at the right place."

"You're at the right place, chief!" Ritsu said. "Over here, over here!"

"Ah, good," he said. The new furniture, paid exclusively by Tsumugi was protected by a green sheet and it had to be carried by two people. That's why the driver had someone to assist him with moving the new furniture.

Back at the school, the faucet at the music room was given a sparkling shine by none other than a blushing Tsumugi. "Holy cow, this is perfect! Hallelujah!"

Azusa flashed a thumbs-up to Mio inside the storage room. "I suppose this is a perfect fit."

"Definitely." She turned behind her to see that the frog in the cupboard was peeking behind. Ui was about to tiptoe out before Mio caught her. "Ui..." she groaned.

"Whoops."

"We were supposed to take our entire personal belongings home," Azusa said. "That was the deal."

Ui was on the defensive. "Hey, I didn't have enough space to carry it out with me yesterday. And I still have these sitting on the chair." She was pointing to the three bags on the chair near the window. "I think I should have brought Yui in to help me out with carrying the stuff. She doesn't want to do it, though. My apologies."

"Well I'll be pissed if you keep them here!"

"Yui is lazy. It can't be helped, Azunyan. Get with the program, will you? I asked Yui last night, 'Hey, could you help me move the rest of the stuff upstairs tomorrow?' She told me, 'I don't want to do it, you do it!' So I have to pick up the pieces. There can only be one of me, you know. It's too bad."

"It's too bad your younger sister has no dignity whatsoever to help you out," Mio said.

Azusa concurred. "Pathetic."

"So later after our meeting, I'll move the rest of this stuff out. How's that?" Ui asked.

Mio and Azusa shrugged their shoulders. "Fine by us," they chorused.

"You know something? Both of you do sound like sisters in a way."

They looked at each other. "I guess you're right," they both said.

"No problem, Ui," Ritsu said, placing the books and DVDs in the newly installed bookshelf. "Just make sure you move them out for good when you're done."

Mio turned to Ritsu in rage. "And just what the hell are you doing!" Well, what did it look like? was the question.

"Love and Peace Bookkeeping Service!" Ritsu exclaimed, forming a V in a vain attempt to save face.

"Hey you guys!" Miss Sawako said to the others, startling Mio and Ritsu, to say the least, as she entered the room from her Advanced Wind Ensemble class. "Is the shelf here?" Sawako went to the storage room. "Looking pretty good," she said, inspecting the rack inside. A few nods, and Miss Sawako turned to the club. Ritsu was moving in slow motion away from the advisor. "Why aren't you guys responding to me? Is there a problem?" The others were still as sticks. Mio stopped Ritsu's slow-motion maneuver with one extension of a stiff arm that landed on her right shoulder with pinpoint accuracy before spinning her back into place with the others.

A few laughs, and Ritsu saluted her with a greetings skit. "Hey, hey, hey, Sawa-chan! We didn't know you were here! We didn't hear you come in," she added, batting her eyebrows.

"So, how did it go yesterday?"

"Oh, yesterday, you say?"

"Regarding my guitar. How much did it sell for?"

The others didn't want to spill the beans because of a potential backlash from their advisor. "Oh, that?" Ritsu said, laughing hesitantly. "Um, um, how much was that again, guys?"

She, Mio, and Azusa were in nervous mode, to say the least. Their pupils dilated and they began to sweat. "Actually," Azusa said, "it was..." She turned to Mio.

"It was pretty old, like fifty years old."

"I see," Sawako said.

"Oh, so wait, does this mean that you are in your fifties?" Ui asked, skipping to her advisor in lollygagging fashion.

Sawako shot back with authority. "You think that's funny! You bastards! There is no way in hell that a 50-year old crone would look this fucking hot! Do I make myself clear!"

"Y...yes, Miss Sawako," the others replied.

"We're sorry!' Ritsu added.

"Sorry, sorry," Mio remarked. Sawako was in the vicinity of 25 years old. Half the age. Mid-twenties, that is.

"And didn't I tell you that this was from my father's friend?"

"I forgot to note that the question I asked you was what Yui would say," Ui explained.

"Ahhh. But anyway, I told you guys that this guitar is from my father's friend. Obviously it's that old. So, how much did it go for?"

Ritsu stammered. "Um..." Either the truth had to go out, or a safe tactic had to be put into place. If they had told Sawako the real price, she would have asked for the guitar to be bought back from the shop. They couldn't do that. So something else had to be done. Azusa and Mio were unwilling to say anything as they looked the other way. Ritsu was disgusted at both of them for not willing to speak. Cowards. "10,000 yen?"

"Ritsu!" Mio exclaimed.

"That is being too selfish, and that is a flat-out lie!" Azusa remarked.

"My apologies; I couldn't help it," she admitted. "And you two wanks didn't even want to say anything."

"I guess with all the mold that was gathering at the base, the value of that had to depreciate," Sawako said, thinking about it. The others sighed. Safe. But now, with the extra cash coming in, what were they going to do about it? "Can I see the receipt?"

Whoops. "What!" Ritsu blinked. Maybe she should have said the real price after all. Mio and Azusa had pained looks on their faces.

"I need to file this for the club budget," she said. "You guys didn't get a receipt for this?"

Ritsu should have had one available. "Um..." She took it out, her hands were shaking violently. The others were watching far behind, in anticipation of the outcome. Her heart was beating quickly.

"There it is," Sawako said.

Ritsu decided instead to eat the receipt, much to Sawako's dismay. If she couldn't win jan-ken-pon with paper, at least she could get revenge by swallowing it up.

Mio rejoiced. "She ate it!"

"Our hero!" Azusa cried out.

"Boy, that was unexpected," Ui said to Mugi with one of her eyebrows raised in surprised.

"Swallow it down, swallow it down!" Mio, Mugi and Azusa said, dancing behind.

"Can she do it?" Ui commented. "Stay tuned...we'll be right back."

"What are you doing; spit it out!" Sawako said, stretching Ritsu's mouth to get the masticated receipt.

"No way!" Ritsu shot back. It was quite a struggle for the longest time.

Sawako took her glasses off, revealing her devilish eyes. "Spit it out!" That was all she needed.

"Aaaaaand we're back," Ui said. "Let's see what happens next." Mio, Mugi and Azusa paled. "I've got some pale people next to me. Wallpaper-worthy, that. And we have breaking news: Ritsu Tainaka just lost the game! Apologies, 4chan. Stay tuned for more developments as the afternoon goes on here at Sakuragaoka Girls High..."

* * *

"Holy Daughters of El Kabong, they sold this for 500,000 yen!" Sawako said, holding on to the damp receipt still in fine condition. They were going to have to dry that bad boy of its Tainaka cooties, that's for sure. The truth was out. Ui was sitting on chair next to her possessions with her arms crossed while the others bowed down in shame. "Excellent!"

"Apparently, it was a valuable model," Tsumugi said.

"We're sorry!" Ritsu said. "We didn't mean to hide it, but I lost my composure because of the high amount."

"You're still a greedy prick," Azusa deadpanned.

"That's how she is," Mio replied.

"Thanks for letting me know, Soul Sister."

"You have no right to say that, you jackass!" Ritsu yelled.

"Um, is there really a need for you guys to prostrate towards Miss Sawako?" Ui asked sheepishly. "She's not the Empress of Japan. And I should have taken that receipt away from you and handed it to Miss Sawako without your germs all over it. That's on me. Tch."

"Here's what I'll do," Sawako said with a wink. "I'll make a deposit of ¥10,000 to the club's budget as Ricchan suggested, and I'll make a note that you used this for the new bookshelf."

Ritsu was besides herself. "What? That's it!"

"If you guys had been honest, the ¥500,000 would have been yours if you had told the truth.""

"This is what you get for lying, Ritsu," Mio said, getting up.

"Told you we should have been honest about this," Azusa added, getting up..

Ritsu was defiant. "Fuck both of you! Man, this sucks!"

"Leave it to Ricchan to screw us over. "Smooth move, ex-lax," Ui said with a disappointed look to her drumming friend. "You threw away ¥490,000 that this club could have used ourselves. Miss Sawako, could you reconsider the decision? It was a spur-of-the-moment thing on Ricchan's part, and she's sorry. Can you?"

"Unfortunately," Sawako replied, "I can't do that."

"Then...for the sake of my younger sister...slap my cheek with it." She did so. "That was for you, Yui."

"Talk about getting it easy," Ritsu said. "Seriously."

"Actually, you would have gotten it easy if you let me do the talking and the negotiating," Ui explained. "Serves you right."

"I guess I'll go ahead and sweeten the deal," Sawako said. "I'll go ahead and buy you guys one more item with this. Generally, I don't like to do this, but you folks are so great that I can't burn my bridges right here, right now. How's that?"

"Really?" Azusa asked.

"Yep. With that said, I want you guys to decide amongst yourselves what you want."

"One item, huh? Hmmm."

"Let's go for five, not just one!" Ritsu exclaimed.

Mio laid the hammer down on her compatriot to her left. "Shut. Your. Trap."

"Ouch." That left quite an impression.

Later that afternoon, Ritsu was left to second-guess her suicidal decision-making in the music room as she drank another box of soy milk. She sighed as she walked with the others. In the distance, some students were going through the P.E. gauntlet. "You know, I think an amplifier would be the safest choice."

"Actually, I think an effects pedal would be a better choice," Azusa said.

Mio dissented. "But not everyone can use it. It's specialized. I won't be able to share my bass amplifiers with anyone else but me. And as for Mugi, well, she's Mugi. She could place ¥500,000 into our club account if she wants to, but the ball's in her court."

Ui had an idea. "I know something!"

Ritsu wanted to know. "What's up?"

"Let's get another of those Kero frogs! When it comes to getting more members, two Keros are better than one!"

"Is that something that your younger sister would say?" Azusa asked.

She winked. "Bingo."

Ui's eyes were fixated on a tennis class going on outside the gymnasium. She decided to take a look. "When holding a racket, don't grip the handle too hard," the instructor explained, positioning one of her students. "Make sure to use your whole body to hit the ball. If you only use your arm, you will injure your elbow nine times out of 10. Got it, ladies?"

"Yes, ma'am!" her students replied.

"Looks like all of the clubs' new members are getting down to business as we speak," Ritsu said to the others.

"They are," Tsumugi noted.

Azusa concurred. "Indeed..."

Ritsu noticed Azusa looking on with a sad look on her face. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

Azusa didn't want to answer. She was still mad at Ritsu for ruining the chances to earn a large windfall from pawning the vintage Gibson.

"Guys," Ritsu said in a tone of disappointment, as Tsumugi consoled her the next day, "I hate to break it to you, but I think I'm on a losing streak right now."

"Honesty is the best policy, Ricchan," Ui said, snacking on some chocolate Pocky. "You did this to yourself, man. I don't think I need to stress it anymore."

"She also said that she wanted to stay with five members, but it looks like she wants someone under her."

"I was thinking the same thing," Tsumugi said as Ui leaned next to her.

"We're all thinking alike, aren't we?" Mio noted.

"You know, we were all feeling good when Azunyan was with us," Ui said.

"All right then," Ritsu said before she let her head hit the desk. "If there are any freshmen nearby, please take me to the music room...!"

"Been there, done that," Mio deadpanned.

She rose up, "Then what the hell are we going to do?"

Ui snapped her fingers. "I know what to do. Just leave it to me."

"I hope you know what you're doing," Ritsu said.

She winked back. "I'm putting you off the hook. Try to let me take care of these things next time." And she was off.

* * *

It took Ui 30 minutes to walk back to the hardware store that they had visited yesterday. Walking through the aisles, she got to the aquarium section.

"There you are," Ui said as the turtle that greeted her returned to say hello. She thought about this for several minutes. The light music club didn't need the extra instruments that they would have purchased. Somewhere in the back on her mind, she knew that Tsumugi's cash cow tendencies will see her deliver with those new items down the road. They already improved the spaces of the music room with the new shelves and other new furniture. The addition of an aquarium was something that all the other clubs and classes using the music room could use. It would attract more people, and the turtle would get to see a great deal of students. It would make him feel like a student himself, in turtle form. One of the statues on the banister leading up to the music room was in the shape of a turtle. A turtle at the bottom, a turtle at the top. And it was something that Azusa was fascinated with.

"Can I help you?" asked one of the store employees to Ui.

"I would like to buy this," she replied.

"Mmmm. Good choice. Is this for your school?"

"Correct. This is a special purchase for the school."

"I see. Oh, you're one of the folks who decided to purchase the shelf. Looks like we have some loyal customers here. Hang on a moment; I will have you fill out the form."

"Thank you."

"My pleasure." And he took off.

Ui flipped open her cell phone to call Miss Sawako's office. "Hello, Miss Sawako?"

"Ah, it's you, Ui," she replied. "So, have you come up with something?"

She smiled. "Yes, I have. Can we purchase a turtle pet aquarium for the club?"

"A turtle pet aquarium? Interesting. How much does it cost?"

"¥480,000. And it includes installation, maintenance for 10 years that can be renewed, as well as other benefits. So this is going to be a long-term thing."

"I suppose it's a fair investment. And I will get something back for my own use. This is a fair compromise because I get something back, and you guys get something back. It's a win-win situation. It's a go."

"Thanks a lot, Miss Sawako!"

"Anytime."

As Ui hung up, she pumped her fist in triumph. Now she had closure, and proceeded to notify everyone else but Azusa. The bridge did not get burned. Instead, it got fortified. It got strengthened. And its resilience made it tougher than steel.

* * *

"Whoa..." Azusa's eyes were fixated on the new turtle that swam around gracefully. A pipe provided oxygen bubbles to the tank, which was climate-controlled as part of the package. The turtle saw Azusa and said hello in his own special way. "What the heck is this?"

Ui spun around before giving the aquarium and its new resident a proper introduction. "It's the turtle that we said hello two a few days ago. His name is Ton-chan, and he is our unofficial mascot, the sixth member of Hokago Tea Time!"

Mugi spun around before joining in the introduction festivities. "Ui asked Miss Sawako to buy it for us yesterday. She also notified me, Mio-chan and Ricchan about her decision. This is your junior, and we want you to take good care of it."

Azusa got the point. "Ahhhhh." Mio and Ritsu were peering from the side to record her reaction. Azusa's eyes were still fixated on Ton-chan.

"Hey Mio," Ritsu said as an aside, "she's not showing much interest in our new resident on campus."

"No, she isn't."

"Hey Ui, you said Azusa liked this turtle," she said, getting up.

"Oh, that's because she was staring at it like she wanted it, and there are other reasons as well," Ui explained.

"You wanted this turtle, not me!" Azusa clarified. "I just thought it had a weird face."

"I see." She held her nose. "The other reasons prevail!"

"Oh, now you've done it," Ritsu said.

"But why did you want to buy the turtle?" Azusa asked the others. Ritsu couldn't explain.

"We thought you might want a junior," Mio said, saving face.

Tsumugi agreed. "Exactly. So..."

"And it's our new member too," Ui reminded Azusa.

Knowing that this new turtle was going to be serendipity at some point in time, Azusa smiled and gave in, walking to the aquarium.

"Don't you think it's troublesome to be our pet because of a mistake we did?" Azusa asked Ton-chan. He nodded as if to say, "Yes, but I don't mind being here. At least it's better than being in a hardware store for the rest of my life." Tsumugi, Ritsu and Mio were surprised that it understood what Azusa was saying.

"That is so cute!" Ui exclaimed.

"Don't worry; I'll take good care of you...Ton-chan."

"I also want to take care of it, too. Share the duties."

"This is my responsibility; leave it to me."

"All right, if you say so."

As Ui glomped Azusa yet again and Tsumugi posed with the victory sign, Mio took a photo to commemorate the event: the day when money talked into Ton-chan becoming the sixth member and official pet of the Light Music Club.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 2**


	3. Touch Too Much

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 3**

**Touch Too Much**

**

* * *

**

Ritsu Tainaka was not one to stop at perfection. Improvement was the name of the game, and the profession that fueled her profession. Born into a blue-collared family, her parents knew that she was destined to take her energy in a constructive way, and that was through the banging on the drums all day. Sometimes her little brother Satoshi would be frustrated with her tendencies to simulate playing on her yellow drum set that was lying inside the music room. But it was all about visualizing how she could polish her cadence patterns.

It got routine to the point where the need to do it was innate and if she were to survive, she needed to improve. That's how Ritsu was.

Ui Hirasawa snacked on her customary Pocky while walking by Ton-chan's tank, singing back at the music room. "He floats like a swan; grace underwater; lips like buta, lips like buta..."

"Hey, stop butchering Echo and the Bunnymen, you," Azusa Nakano said, reading a guide on how to take care of turtles that was purchased at the store yesterday.

All Tsumugi Kotobuki could do was fawn over the turtle lazily gliding down the currents in the tank, an innocent reptile among a sea of innocent people. Sighing, Ui continued to mull around, snacking. "Hey Mio-chan, are you scared?" Mugi asked, out of concern for her bass-laying compatriot.

She was startled by the question that lay in front of her. "I'm not really scared; I just don't think it's cute."

"You sure about that?" Ui asked. "It IS cute; what are you talking about!" She turned to Ton-chan. "Isn't that right, Ton-chan? You are the cutest little thing on the planet, aren't you?"

Ton-chan turned to Yui and opened his mouth as if to say, "Yes, and thank you for telling me."

"Look, he's staring at you!" Tsumugi said, beaming.

"He sure is! I'm right here, Ton-chan!"

"Ton-chan...!"

"Hey Mio, say his name too."

She was a bit hesitant, but she fancied that it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. "T...Ton-chan..." He surface above the surface and saw Mio, snorting to acknowledge her presence. "So cute..."

"There you go. I knew you would come around."

Azusa continued to read the book, "Well, Ui-sempai, you need to be a responsible pet owner. According to this bible I got yesterday, you need to keep the water temperature constant and change the water at regular intervals."

"Well this will be fun. A bit more to handle that Gitah standing in the corner down there, huh?" Ui laughed bitterly outside the water as Ton-chan floundered lazily inside it.

"And make sure to feed it every day."

Mugi jumped on the idea. "Oh, if you run out of food, I'll make sure to bring some from home. Our family pond has a Chinese Pond Turtle, an Asian Yellow Pond turtle and a Stinkpot. Our staff there has some high-quality feed so that he will grow up to be big and strong."

"Old hat for you, I take it?" Mio said in amazement.

"Yep!"

Azusa was in awe as well. "Excellent!"

"Hey Ton-chan, I will take good care of you," Ui said.

"Exactly," Mio agreed. "We won't abandon him just because you get tired of taking care of him."

Ritsu was screaming in the back. "Shit, I'm tired of this!"

She ran over to her drumming friend in distress. "Hey Ritsu, what's up? Something wrong?"

She was on her knees, pleading to the heavens for sanctuary from her insanity. "I'm tired of drumming."

* * *

"Hooo boy," Ui said, crossing her arms to suggest that this was another of her attempts to gain attention. "As if things hadn't been bad enough. What's up, Ricchan?"

"You're tired of drumming?" Mio said, not getting the message.

"A question," Ritsu asked, raising her hand. "The phrase 'tired of' is a bit too extreme for the sake of this discussion. However," she said, pointing to a disc, "look at this!" They all did. "This is the Light Music Club's activity record that our Student Council made. Jun gave this to me."

Using her laptop, Ritsu opened the disc that showed their first concert.

"Hey, that the Culture Festival from out first year!" Tsumugi said.

"Oh God, not again," Mio said.

"That, ladies and ladies, was how this club got back on the map of relevance here on campus," Ui added.

Azusa admitted as much. "And I saw that, with Mio-sempai's str-"

"Oh shut up, will you!"

"But that's not the point the point I am trying to make here," Ritsu explained, continuing her spiel. "Take a look at the drums." The spotlights on the cymbals hid her face.

"Yeah, that doesn't look right," Ui said. "Ricchan, you're dark!" Mio's eyes blinded and she had to take cover. "But your forehead is shiny. Really doesn't look right."

Ritsu covered her forehead as if Ui's fetish levels reached dangerous levels. "Oh, shut up will you!"

"There isn't any light on you," Mio said, taking a look at the frame.

Azusa took a closer look. "This is because you're in the back."

Tsumugi inferred. "The drummer is hard to see from the front."

"That's not the only issue here," Ritsu added, flipping through other scenes. "At last year's Welcome Concert..."

"It's dark," Mio said.

"And this year's Freshman Concert, too!"

"Well, at least I can see your legs," Azusa said. Ritsu was in tears at not getting the spotlight she felt she deserved.

"Damn, she's pretty far back," Mio said, getting a better look at the videos. Tsumugi nodded as Ritsu's angst continued to chart its course.

"So..." Azusa asked, "what's wrong, Ritsu-sempai?"

Ritsu was stuck in a corner, all by her lonesome self. "I want to play something else," she said in a tone that took her back ten years.

Mio was shocked. "Huh? Wait a minute here!" she said, hands on her hips. "Who the hell is going to play the drums if you don't?"

She turned with a pout and a whine. "Ui?"

"Request declined," she replied.

"She didn't think about it," Mio said as an aside to the others, flashing a stare of bewilderment. She turned to Ritsu, still whimpering like a hound dog, crying all the time in the corner. "And didn't you say that you weren't a fan of all the fancy finger work?"

She got back to her senses and rose to her feet. "I did, but I believe it would be best if we swapped instruments once in a while. I like getting a change of pace every now and then."

"You mean every day."

"Oh yeah, that too."

"I know I can play the other instruments here," Ui said, "but I prefer to play Gitah."

"I think it's a wonderful idea," Tsumugi said.

Mio turned to the others, stunned. Ui made an offer. "You know what Ricchan? Even though I have no intentions of playing on your drum set, I will let you try playing Gitah. How's that?"

Ritsu jumped at the offer. "Cool! Can I?"

"Absolutely. Gitah, you see, does not play favorites when it comes to game guitarists."

Mio was still bewildered at the change in staffing as a sweat drop came down her forehead. "Ehhh!" Well, it couldn't hurt, now could it?

"Ta-da!" Ritsu posed with Gitah triumphantly.

"Cool," Tsumugi said. "I have to say this looks good on you." She just had to laugh.

"I suppose it does look good on you," Azusa said.

Ui concurred. "Doesn't she?"

"But it does look unusual," Mio added.

Tsumugi pursued the question. "Try playing something."

"Allow me to do a little 'What Would Yui Do' sequence," Ui said. At that point, she cried crocodile tears.

"Ui-sempai, what's wrong?" Azusa asked.

Through sobs and hiccups, she went on, "Gitah is...Gitah is...Gitah is cheating on me!"

"But you're the one who wanted to give it to her."

She temporarily broke away from her improvisation. "But this is what Yui would do in this situation."

"Oh. I see."

Ui in Yui mode looked to the heavens, wondering if she would even get a sniff of a reprieve from a higher authority for this six-stringed Gibson betrayal. "Thank you, my dear. It's been nice knowing you."

"You really are quite the drama queen."

"So, Ui-sensei," Ritsu asked. "What do I need to do?"

Back to her regular character. The default, as she turned to her new student. "Sensei, is it?" Azusa let a sweatdrop come down, her bemused expression telling the story while Mio looked on in sympathy. "Very well then, let's go through the basics."

"I think I'll go have some tea," Mio said to Tsumugi.

"It's on the table; help yourself," she replied as Mio headed to the plates of pastries and cups of milk tea.

"I have no doubt she will tire of this very soon."

"Makes you wonder."

"So this is what you do," Ui said. "You press down on the strings with your left hand, and strum with your right. Make sure to get a good grip on the fret board."

"Uh, I already know that already," Ritsu replied.

She nodded. "Okay then, let's see what you got. Azusa," Ui said, motioning to the kouhai of the crew to place a guitar arrangement of "Fuwa Fuwa Time" on a stand.

"Let's start with this," Azusa said.

Ritsu saluted. "Yes, ma'am!"

"That's the spirit," Ui remarked.

"You may want to sit down to make it easier for you," Azusa added at Ritsu sat down. "The chord is an E, and to do this, place your index on the third string's first fret, your middle finger of the fifth string's second fret, and your ring finger on the fourth string's second fret." Naturally this was going to be quite a change of pace for a blinking Ritsu, who struggled with the fingering. Azusa had to help her out. "So your index finger goes here, and your middle finger goes here. Just like that. They you move your right hand up and down while strumming. Simple."

Ritsu gave it a few strums. "Ricchan, you should relax your hand," Ui said. "No need to go hard on the strings. Easy does it."

"And keep the string fingers perpendicular to the board. Some of the notes aren't resonating like they should," Azusa added.

"Ricchan, hold the pick gently. Gently..." She did.

"Ah, now they are a bit more even." Mio and Tsumugi were looking on intently. "Keep your back straight."

"You should stick out your left wrist a little more." This was one of the major issues with Ritsu, which is why she preferred the drums. She didn't process information as easily as Azusa or Ui. Simplicity was the name of the game, and too much advice could be interpreted as a sign that she wasn't doing well.

"That's good. Let's move on to the next chord."

"This will be a more difficult one."

"I just realized something, guys," Ritsu deadpanned. "I'm not cut out for the guitar."

Azusa was stunned. "Already!" Mio said. "Dammit; that only took a minute!"

"That's because there's so much to keep track of. Here you go," she said, handing Gitah back to Ui. "You have my utmost respect now, teacher."

"The pleasure is all mine," Ui responded in kind. "Welcome back, Gitah." Ritsu smiled as she watched Ui stroke her six-stringed pet. "That's a good boy, my dear."

Miss Sawako Yamanaka passed by students and more students down the hall with class and dignity. "Good morning," the masses of scholars said at the Girls' Campus with honor and loyalty.

"Morning," she said back. She noticed Ritsu passing by. "Good morning, Ricchan."

"Oh, good morning Sawa-chan..." Ritsu found out that her face was beaming and her skin was shining. It was so fresh and so clean. The levels of jealousy hit the highest highs as Sawako passed by her on the way to class. "Son of a bitch...Sawa-chan is shining on like a crazy diamond!"

* * *

Lunchtime was on the way. Meatloaf, meatballs, omelettes, salad and cocktail wieners to go with rice was on the house, all fresh from the bento.

"This is some good stuff you brought in, Jun-chan," Tsumugi said as Ui got to work snacking it up.

"Thanks. I'm glad you liked it."

"Jun's a good cook," Ui said. "Not as good as me, but still knows her schtick."

"Oh, don't be a gloater on my watch! Please!" They all laughed.

"I think your younger sister is fortunate to have you and Jun-chan cooking for her," Mugi inferred.

"And she knows it," Ui replied back.

"Mugi, your lunch seems to be the biggest of them all," Jun noticed. It had one of everything, specially prepared by the house chefs: omelettes, tofu, salad, sushi and the fruits of the day: strawberries and plums. It was a little bit of everything—the power of the East meeting the West. A handshake of gastronomical diplomacy in a box.

"I'm someone that uses a lot of energy; hence the large box," Mugi explained.

"For what?" Jun wondered. Aside from music, she was also an ace in P.E. and could run like the wind. At the sports festival last year, she helped her class win first place in the relay, running the anchor leg. That was Tsumugi Kotobuki: a modern-day Atalanta with blazing 4.3 speed that could rock a keyboard, too.

"Mio-chan's lunch is always cute," she said. Her bento box comprised of meatloaf, omelettes, salad and cocktail wieners to go with a little pasta on the side.

Mio was shocked. "Eh?"

"So your mom still see you as a bit of a kid, huh?" Ui remarked with a grin. She blushed as she proceeded to gobble up one of the wieners and work on her bento.

Tsumugi noticed Ritsu talking to some other class members across the room. "As for Ricchan..."

"Cross-classroom journey, perhaps to do some Ricchanesque proselytizing," Ui said. "What do you think, Jun?"

"Maybe. She's flying from place to place. Boundless."

"She's like Cozy Powell in a way," Mio said. "He's a drummer from England that plied his trade with different groups like Bedlam, Cozy Powell's Hammer, The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, MSG, Whitesnake, Emerson, Lake & Powell, Blue Murder, Gary Moore, Black Sabbath, The Brian May Band, Peter Green Splinter Group, and whole lot others. He was on 66 albums and contributed to several others. God rest his soul."

Ui nodded, tuning into her iPod to play some music from AC/DC's "High Voltage" album while popping a piece of tofu into her mouth. "That's what car crashes can do to you. They cement your legacy forever."

Mio reflected on Ritsu's tendencies to be restless and fickle. She was always that way all her life. Never one to be bored with anything. Actually, she was more like a Haruhi Suzumiya than a Cozy Powell, or more like a little of both, now that she thought about it. So the question now was this: why would she abandon the drums? It was a weapon of choice that kept her sanity in check and her mind in check. It didn't make any sense for her to step out of her comfort zone just because of the footage from the past few concerts HTT had together at the auditorium. It just didn't make any sense at all.

Ritsu walked over to the crew, beaming. "Hello, my dearies; I'm back!"

"Ah, there's that rascal we were talking about earlier. Welcome back," Ui said. Ritsu sat on Mio lap. Mio could feel a slight dampness gathering about her skirt again. "Here, have some of Jun's omelette," she said, offering a sizable morsel.

"Ooooh. Thanks. And you didn't already take a bite of it, either. All right." Ritsu chomped at the bit.

* * *

The next day came like a bullet train past Mount Fuji.

"Ladies of the Light Music Club," Ritsu proclaimed, "I will try the keyboard today."

Mio was wondering what she was up to next. "The ladies of whom?"

Ui stroked her chin with interest. "On the next exciting episode of 'Shine On, You Crazy Ricchan'..."

Ritsu's cry was defiant as ever, like an Amazon on a mission to the depths of Hell. "God fucking dammit, I must fucking shine!"

Mio rolled her eyes. "Oh dear." Ui looked on with a grin.

Ritsu's spiel went on as she noticed Miss Sawako in the room. "You sparkle when you receive attention. Take a look!"

Sawako noticed Ritsu pointing at her. "What is it?"

"Everyone! Ever since Sawa-chan became our homeroom teacher, she's had a good skin complexion, and really starry eyes...Don't you rats think she's really living it up while just about the rest of us are down in the dumps!"

Sawako winked. "Well, maybe my dear Ricchan, it's because having a homeroom gives me more opportunities to be in the spotlight."

"Son of a cock-sucking bitch, I want a shiny life too! Nyaargh!"

Ui laughed at Mio, elbowing her. "Boy, she's full of it today. All this and more, on the next 'Shine On, You Crazy Ricchan.'"

"So you'll be trying the keyboard today?" Mio asked.

"Help yourself," Tsumugi said.

"Heheh, let's check this baby out," Ritsu said. A few presses of the keys.

"Hey, that said 'Ding! Dong!' like a doorbell," Ui said.

Azusa popped out from looking at Ton-chan, "Ritsu-sempai, can you read notations?"

A few more presses. "That said, 'You Bet I Can!' So, yes."

"A-ha."

Mio wasn't too impressed by it all. "How the heck does Ui decipher what this keyboard is playing? You're bothering Mugi here..." But she noticed Mugi's eyes sparkling, her hands to her cheeks in sheer amazement. "...or so I thought."

"My keyboard...it speaks!" Tsumugi cried as Ritsu smiled victoriously. A few more presses. "It just said 'Mu-gi-chan!'"

"It sure did!" Ui replied.

Mio was nonplussed. "Oh, the hell with you all!"

* * *

Ritsu continued to work on tweaking the sound properties and sampling of the Tsumugi's keyboard. It was like a musical workstation in a number of ways. "The keyboard is a lot of fun with all these different sounds," she said to Mugi with a grin.

"This is giving me a hatful of ideas for a brand new song."

"The hell! What kind of song is that?" Azusa wondered as a sweatdrop came down her head. Well, it wasn't going to be this minimalistic.

"Must be a blast," Ui said to Azusa and Mio, who were watching the song from the big chair.

"I suppose it is," Mio added. She got up out of her seat. "Mugi, I want to try it too." Ritsu, grinning, pressed a key that evoked a heavy metal noise as if to say, "No you can't." Mio then grabbed Ritsu's cheeks in vengeful fashion. "Stop it will you! Let's not make that kind of sound, Ritsu. Do I make myself CLEAR?"

"I'm sorry!" But she was also squeezing Mio's cheeks right back.

"Stop it!"

"Take this, you fiend!"

"Only several more seconds until I put a bruise on your face, pal."

"BRING IT!"

They went at it for the longest time. "Hooo boy," Ui said to Mugi and Azusa with a chuckle. "Hey Ricchan, do you want to try playing the bass?"

Mio was stunned as Ritsu let go of her hands. "No, not the bass!"

"Oh? Why?"

Mio's mood became one of insecurity. "That...is my bass. I don't want to do anything else other than play the instrument I have. It has to be the bass, and I can't let anyone else touch it. AT ALL." Her eyes got a little bit low as she reflected. Mugi licked her lips at the possible moment of moe. "The low, deep tone...being the group's support...and I think it's fun to come up with bass lines to accompany everyone else's arrangements. It's not too showy, but not completely buried under other sounds. My dream has always been to be that type of bassist."

"I know. Don't you worry about a thing, Mio," Ritsu said. "I'm not going to touch your bass. I already am struggling with playing the guitar, so I think I would have a tougher time playing the bass anyway."

"Haha, you make me jealous, Tainaka-dono," Ui said slyly.

"Ah, don't mention it."

But Mio's head full of steam gave way to the steam coming out. "I said too much."

"Huh?" Ritsu and Ui went over to her.

"Mio! Snap out of it!" Ui cried.

Ritsu could not believe it. "Have mercy, Miss Percy, Mio has turned into a zombie!"

Tsumugi took it from a more even-keeled perspective. "That's so wonderful of you. The bass is a perfect fit for Mio-chan."

Azusa agreed. "I love Mio-sempai's bass!"

Tsumugi nodded. "Me too."

"Milady," Ui said in a English tone while lightly shaking Mio back to her senses, "how long are you going to stay frozen in time? Don't you realize you have much to live for, much to look out for?" She turned to Ritsu. "Ricchan."

"Sup?"

"Just leave this to me."

"You sure?"

"Positive. You'll be all right, Ricchan." She turned to Mio. "Wake up Milady, or you will miss your night boat to Cairo!"

Ritsu still didn't get what Ui was hinting at. "Leave what to her?" She was referring to Ritsu inability to shine, of course.

Back at the Hirasawa house, Yui was lazily rolling around the living room like a pin flattening dough. "Stop that," Ui said, picking up the dishes to be placed in the sink.

"Awww, but onee-chan, I love rolling around."

"I know, but stop it." Yui pouted.

After washing the silverware, Ui proceeded to grab some cleaned dishes and chopsticks and arranged it to simulate a dish drum set. "What are you doing, onee-chan?" Yui asked as Ui tinkered around with it.

"Testing the acoustics of some of the china lightly."

"Ooooh. Sounds like fun. But why are you doing this?"

"I'm coming up with a plan to make Ricchan shine." She tinkered a little bit more before placing them back in the cupboard. "I think I have it."

"Ricchan-sempai? A plan? Oooooh. Cool." Yui continued to roll around on the floor.

Ui rolled her eyes. "Yui, stop that!" She supposed that it couldn't be helped after all.

* * *

Sawako placed some lipstick on and hummed from side to side the following day. The class photo would be taken very soon, and the anticipation and excitement built among all of Class 3-2.

Of course, the photographer had to take care of Class 3-1 first. "Ready, ladies?" he asked? "Say cheese!"

Sawako looked on with a wide smile on her face. Very few clouds were in site, and it was a great morning to have a class photo taken. The birds were singing and life was wonderful in the suburbs. "There are other classes after us," she said, "so let's get this done quickly."

"Yes ma'am!" the three students next to her said.

"How should we line up?" Keiko Iida asked.

"Alphabetical order, by last name?"

"How about shortest to tallest?" Nobuyo Nakajima suggested.

"All right, we'll go with that. Thanks. You know, it's my first time with a homeroom, so if you need to teach me some new things regarding how this is run, I welcome it. You me, I teach you...everybody learns. That's the deal."

The three of them smiled. "Yes, ma'am!"

The discussion went on amongst the three of them. "Guys, I am head over heels for Miss Sawako," Keiko said.

"She gets prettier every day, I can't believe it," Nobuyo concurred.

"I can't believe it either," Ushio Oota added.

For Miss Sawako, it was all about things going full circle. Here was this once-upon-a-time music instructor, now a homeroom teacher indoctrinating the masses of femininity with the classics, grammar, and math...all the concepts bestowed since antiquity to free men and women. As the Fatboy Slim record of the year 1998 suggested, "You've Come A Long Way, Baby."

* * *

"Ladies, are you ready?" the photographer said to Class 3-2, who took their places for the photo.

"I'm taking the end of the row," Mio said.

Tsumugi stood next to her. "I'll take this spot." The both laughed.

Ritsu bumped right in to the two of them. "Excuse me! Could you scoot on over?"

Mio was consternate. "It's supposed to be shortest to tallest, Ritsu."

"Let's try this." She stood on her toes.

Tsumugi noticed the difference in height. "Hey, you got taller!"

Mio noticed it as well. "You cheater." But that was another dimension of Ritsu Tainaka: an Oscar Wilde-like mentality, bent on breaking rules and making new ones for the sake of doing so.

Ui and Jun noticed the three standing above them. "Hey, we're all together!" Ui said.

"Excellent," Jun added.

"Even though, for the record, we're out of order on this one," Mio inferred.

"I think it's important for us to be united. HTT United, that is," Ritsu said.

"Definitely," Ui agreed.

"Keep in mind that I'm not in the band," Jun added.

"You're a Friend of the Band, so that counts."

"Never heard of that term. 'Friend of the Band'...Interesting."

"This is going to be a class photo we all should hang up," Ui said to the four.

"Okay, are you guys ready?" Sawako asked the class.

"Yes, ma'am!" the class responded.

She gave a thumbs up to the photographer. "They're ready, sir."

He got the camera ready to commemorate the moment. "All right. Look over here." They did. "Say cheese!" A flash of the bulb as Ritsu placed a hand on Ui's shoulder in goodwill, and history was made once again at the Girls' Campus of Sakuragaoka High School.

Back at the Music Room, Ritsu was impressed with the new layout that Ui set up. "You know, I love this to death," Ui said.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ritsu deadpanned.

"Ricchan, there you are!" She walked over to her with a sheer feeling of enthusiasm. "I changed your position in the band! You're now smack-dab in the middle!"

She wondered if Ui had lost her mind. "Eh..."

"I've been thinking about this dilemma quite a lot, you know. We should change the positions once in a while. Here, take a seat!" Ui dragged Ritsu to her seat next to her set.

"Wait a minute here..." Ritsu never felt this awkward since she saw the film from the past concerts earlier in the week. But she took her seat."

"There you go. And so, we shall be arranged like this, from the viewer's angle: Mio, me, you, Azunyan and Mugi. Azunyan and I will be in the back, while the others are at the front."

"Son of a bitch, this is embarrassing."

Sawako positioned her thumb and index fingers to simulate a photo lens, peering through to test the visual aesthetics of the new formation. "Hmmm. I guess this formation looks a bit more natural."

"It sure is," the others chorused monotonously, save for Ui, who had a smug, accomplished look on her face.

Ui turned to Ritsu. "But it's still okay, Ricchan!" She turned on a light from the hard hat they bought a few weeks ago.

"Gah! The light...it blinds!" Ritsu cried out.

"I'll shine this light on you!"

"Stop it!"

The light got stronger. "Shine On, You Crazy Ricchan! Shine on!"

"Stop it, Ui!" Mio exclaimed, pushing her aside. "Ritsu is..."

"Huh? What happened? Did I overdo it?"

"She is on her last breath."

"Oh boy, now I've done it. I think she could use extreme unction right about now. Next week, on 'Shine On, You Crazy Ricchan'..."

* * *

"Hey Ricchan," Ui asked with a look of concern. "Are you lonely?"

"Oh? Why?"

"You always seem to be playing in the back, so it suggested to me that you are."

"Not really."

"Let's try this, then. We'll have a bit more communication with you as we play our music. How's that?"

"Do you really think that's gonna work?"

"It should. And it goes like this." She did a few strums, then sharply turned to Ritsu before turning towards the audience. And she repeated that out of demonstration. Ritsu was stunned by the sudden turn Ui made. "How's that? Everyone, let's try it! Let's communicated with Ricchan the Lonely behind us!"

Azusa knew already that this was not going to work at all. "Ehhhh?"

"Let's do it! Ready, GO!" They all did, with little success, the only success being Ritsu traumatized worse than before. Ui pumped her right fist in victory. "All right, that should be perfect!"

Mio sighed.

"Ui," said Ritsu, "that really wasn't what I was looking for."

She turned and walked to her. "Don't hold back, Ricchan. Your troubles are our troubles. Don't keep it to yourself!"

"But I'm not feeling troubled."

"Let's overcome it...together!"

Ritsu was in tears as Azusa looked on with a bemused look. "Gaaaaah...you've got it all wrong, dammit!" Ui was doing a touch too much.

"Sheesh, and I brought all these for her too," Ui said later that afternoon, carrying a heavy bag of curios with Azusa following her.

"Just forget it and take those home," Azusa replied. The frown could not be any more pronounced.

"I realized that this was what my younger sister would do, too."

"What? You were in Yui mode and you didn't tell us, Ui-sempai? Cheeky..."

Ui continued to lug the bag with her, rolling her eyes. "Azunyan..."

"Yeah?"

"I think maybe if Ricchan doesn't want to play the drums, maybe I will, even though I don't want to. I can play them, you know."

"Eh? Why do you say that?"

"I think Ricchan may be feeling troubled by something. She's in a slump. Is that the word for it?"

"Yes. That is. But it's not even close to that for her."

"So I think this is why she wants to try something different. She's slumping."

"You think so?"

Ui knew it. "Positive. So I'll have a go on the drums tomorrow. I'll play the drums behind you."

A car passed by before Azusa answered back. "No you can't!"

"Why not, Azunyan?"

"You have to stay within my sight!"

"Awww, bloody hell."

Azusa pouted. "You're just thinking too much about this whole thing concerning Ritsu-sempai."

Ui rolled her eyes and went on. The Hirasawa curio collection was going to have a few more to the feast back home, much to Yui's curiosity.

Back at the Yamanaka house, Sawako took a nice long bath and hummed to herself while applying some cream to her face designed to exfoliate her skin. "Now I'll be sparkling!" Little did she know that she purchased the wrong type of cream that would cause her face to break out in the worst of fashions the next morning.

* * *

The Tainaka house was a place of reflection and retrospective for Ritsu. At her bed, she decided to write some new lyrics for the band's next crop of song, but was still troubled by the lack of spotlight time. It ate away at her train of thought, derailing it at the junction of common sense and sanity. Trying other instruments backfired, and the assistance she was getting from Ui wasn't doing its part to help matters either.

She had enough of dawdling around. She had enough of having her mind polluted by a conflict of interest. Something was wrong with the picture here. Ritsu grabbed her phone to check her phone. She decided to send Mio a new message just to kill some time. "Behind you is a pair of white dolphins," it said. That would traumatize her for a bit while her mind continued to search for its serenity. It wasn't the best of tactics, but it would do.

Soon after, Ritsu got a message. "Idiot." That went so, so well. Were there even any? She had to smile. Those two were in endless communication, even though they were just several houses away from each other. Ritsu looked straight on, still deep in her thoughts. Maybe she was overdoing things by trying something new. It wasn't like her anyway to go outside her comfort zone. For a few fleeting moments while slinking back into her seat, she chose to play around with the thought of self-actualization hither and thither like a giant ball of clay, sculpting the purpose for the concept as she went along.

"I realized I haven't been playing these drums much lately," Ritsu said to herself while talking to a stucco ceiling that could only listen, and nothing more. "I suppose I caused this whole mess in the first place." It was quite a mess indeed. But that caused her to return to the issue at hand. Why would she step out of her comfort zone just to satisfy the lack of spotlight time, the lack of shine that made her jealous of her peers within the club? Wasn't she satisfied already with being part of it all? On top of that, as the club president, it wasn't as if Ritsu didn't have enough time in the spotlight. The word "self-actualization" was replaced with a different word: "humility." She recalled her memories of the past with Mio, back in grade school and junior high, and how her penchant for percussion grew stronger and stronger and stronger as she became the woman that she was. Ritsu had to laugh at the retrospective in her head: the day when she watched bands like The Ramones, The Who, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Metallica...all those bands with their drummers unleash boundless power and accelerated cadences into one rhythm that got her youthful hormones in one orgasmic rage. This was the foundation that she built on. It was soon after she watched these clips that she made a decision to buy the drum set at 10GIA that is now on display for her use at the music room. And it was then and there that she formed a pact with Mio, who honed her skills as a bassist, forming a backbeat and sound for the band that would be known as Hokago Tea Time, as well as a deep relationship that would continue to endure, till death do they part.

Ritsu felt and studied the calluses on her hand that came from days and days of practices; concerts upon concerts; blood, sweat and tears upon more blood, sweat and tears. It was the dedication that toughened her palms and made her a seasoned veteran of her set. She studied how drummers gripped their sticks. At first, Ritsu's grip was tight and it tired her out. But when she studied the techniques of the best in the business, her grip of the sticks changed, and her arrangement of the set changed so that she could drum longer, harder and faster without tiring out too quickly. Now she used her wrists to coordinate the beats and dictate the tempo for the band's songs. It got to the point where this was all old hat for her because she did this very well. Simply put, Ritsu was in a zone when she was on the drums.

As she looked at her drumsticks, those two pieces of wood that got her to where she was, those same drumsticks she bought from 10GIA when she was a child, Ritsu could not help but wonder if all the fuss she was dishing her friends was really worth the hassle. Taking them out, she simulated a drum pad with a few coasters from her collection of curios and a textbook and beamed. It was decided that it wasn't worth the hassle in the end. Ritsu remembered when her dream began, and she turned the self-actualization switch on for good.

"Hey sis, you're a bit too noisy!" Satoshi Tainaka, her younger brother said in the bedroom next door.

"Oh, sorry."

* * *

The next day, Mio and Ritsu made the mad rush towards the Sakuragaoka Girls' Campus with a head full of steam and apologies to Miss Sawako to dish out.

"God dammit, how long did you oversleep?" Mio asked Ritsu on the fly.

"Sorry, I was watching a DVD."

"The hell?" Excuses, excuses.

"See, in a remote village, there's this one scary ritual the locals do, and..." She noticed Mio stop, covering her ears, whimpering. "I was only kidding. I was watching a concert of the Who, Live at Leeds."

Mio uncovered her ears. "What?"

"The Who. They are a rock band from England that performed at the Super Bowl earlier this year."

"Ohhhh. You seemed to like their drummer, don't you, Ritsu?"

Ritsu made her confession. "Keith Moon was the best the rock world had ever seen, Mio. It's a shame that he chose to live a self-destructive lifestyle full of alcohol and drugs." She heard the Westminster Chimes. "And it's a shame that we're gonna be late. Hurry up, let's go!"

"Quick!" And off they went.

"All right class," Miss Sawako said with a sigh, "I want you to submit your free-time activity plan by tomorrow, all right? On this free trip, you've got a plethora of temples to choose, so be sure to pick the right route carefully. My belief is that if you're going to have fun, do it right."

"Yes, ma'am," the class said with a bored tone. Some chose to scrawl some random thoughts on their notes, while a few opted to look at their textbooks on modern-day Japanese history. Ritsu and Mio crept inside discreetly so that they wouldn't be seen in their seats until they got to their seats.

Ui noticed the two coming in, and nodded to the two, who nodded back. But before Mio and Ritsu were able to get to their seats, Sawako noticed them doing so, to the laughter of the rest of the class. Those two turned to stone in a hurry. "Tainaka? Akiyama? What is the meaning of this?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," she said, getting up, a hand scratching the back of her head.

"All right. No matter; I'll let this go for now. Please take your seats." Ritsu noticed that she was wearing sunglasses and a face mask and backtracked in fear. The cream caused her face to break out, her skin to be discolored, and her eyes to go horribly dry. Uncovered, she did look like a 50-year-old crone.

* * *

"Hey, Sawa-chan," Ritsu said after class to Sawako, Ui following.

"What wrong, Miss Sawako?" Ui asked.

"You look pretty scary."

She was in tears, and her sobs were too much for her to handle. "I wanted to shine more, and I was experimenting."

Ritsu and Ui put comforting hands on Sawako's shoulders. "Sawa-chan..." Ui said.

"You overdid it," she said with Ritsu in unison.

"And some."

The bust of the school's founder rocked a mohawk and shades as it was back to the daily afternoon grind at the music room. "Ta-da!" Ritsu proclaimed with bold intentions. "I am back in my zone! It's all about the drums. Glory, glory, hal-le-lu-jah!" The others in the room applauded.

"I knew it all along," Mio chuckled, "since you were going off on singing the praises of a certain Keith Moon last night."

"Oh, the drummer for The Who?" Ui said. "I know that guy from the Wikipedia! He took 32 tablets of Heminevrin because he wanted to get sober, but he overdosed."

"That's right."

"Speaking of which, I know that Ringo's son Zak is the current drummer for The Who. He's not too bad, and he learned the moved from Moon, who he called 'Uncle Keith.'"

"You seem to know your musicians, don't you?" Mio said slyly, her eyes cutting through glass.

"I just happen to search the right places. Nothing too over-the-moon—whoops, bad joke." They all broke out in laughter.

"They also call him 'Moon the Loon' and 'The Destroyer'," Azusa added.

"Bingo!" Ui exclaimed. "100 interwebs for Miss Nakano!"

"I know that one time, he once set cherry bombs around his house and destroyed it. Now that is bad-ass right there."

"And because of that, he was banned from every hotel chain in the world because he flushed those bad boys down the crappers!"

"Whoa."

"You know, that's not a side of Keith that would want to remember him for," Ritsu said. She did have standards after all. Heck, for all his drumming, relationship-wise, Keith Moon would not be her type of partner. Not that Mio already sufficed enough, though. "I'd rather remember him for his drumming, and that's about it. But you know something?"

"What's that?" Ui asked.

"Even if I'm not in the spotlight, in the shadows, or if only my legs are shown, the drums are what..."

"I get it!"

Ritsu was surprised. "You do?"

"Yeah. We know that you've got to be on the drums regardless, Ricchan. We read you loud and clear, Prez!"

"Ui..."

"I have come to the conclusion that when I look back, and I am ready to play for any audience, you have the responsibility to bang those sticks together and give us a count full of energy into our numbers. That gets every one of us fired up to rock and roll! It's a great feeling, and you bring that every time," she said, her fist in the air.

"Ui?"

"Yeah?"

"You thief."

"Huh? What did I do?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth."

"Sorry. But you know what?"

"What?"

"You also taught me a lot of things, too."

"I did?"

"We may be in the same band, but what we see and how we think are two different animals altogether and must be treated that way from now on." The others nodded. "We all have our own roles, and we are all different, but..."

"When we play, we become one united unit!"

"Exactly! Now YOU took the words right out of my mouth."

"Had to be fair," Ritsu said with a grin. It was all making sense. "When I sit on this stool in front of my drums...I look at your backs, and I listen to the melody every one of you makes, and I bang on these bad boys like Keith Moon would do at his best. I love it, and I would trade this for the world!"

"Amen, sister!" The others applauded, smiling at each other. Ritsu had found her serenity once again.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Tsumugi said. "I completed a song as a tribute to you, for making my keyboard speak." She produced a piece of paper with notation.

"Just because of that?' Mio wondered.

Azusa was equally interested. "How do the words go?"

"Now this I gotta hear," Ui said.

Tsumugi went on. "Here it goes." A light, poppy melody came out.

"That's beautiful," Ritsu said.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Ui remarked, "we got our next hit, fresh from HTT Labs!"

"I smell a little bit of wonderful in this one," Ui said.

"Yeah, I like it," Mugi agreed.

"Hey Mio," Ritsu asked, "you wanna go write the lyrics for this one?"

"Actually, I already have a title for it."

"Cool," Ui said. "What is it?"

"Honey Sweet Tea Time."

She nodded. "Keeping it true to our roots, ladies."

Ritsu was hoping for something more unconventional from Mugi. "So it's leading back to tea, huh?"

As if by coincidence, some French bread rusks, some honey and milk tea were on the table. "These rusks and honey really hit the spot, you guys," said Ui to Ritsu.

Her inner Socrates weighed in on the sweet matter at hand. "Seems to us that combination is the key to everything."

"Uh, you have honey all around your mouth," Azusa motioned to Ui.

"Azunyan, I want you to wipe it off my face."

"Oh, now I see where this is going. Sheesh." Azusa proceeded to do so with her tongue, while Ritsu excused herself to get some napkins.

Meanwhile, Mio looked at the notation and thought of some words to go with the music. That was the great thing about Mio Akiyama: in spite of her childish lyrics, they resonated, and that's what really mattered. "The honey-colored afternoon is passing by..." she said to herself, meshing the kana syllables with the lyrics she conceived. "It's a honey sweet tea time..."

"I think we should repeat that phrase and make that our chorus," Tsumugi said to her.

She thought about it, which didn't take too long, to be honest. "Let's go for that." This would be a song jointly penned by Mio and Mugi. Ritsu returned to the restroom after clogging her blood-spewing nostrils, and she, Ui and Azusa proceeded to nibbling their honey-laced rusks. "Guys, I can't focus down there," she said.

"You want to go take a break and join them?"

Mio smiled and agreed. "Yeah, we should." As the two of them took their seats, the light music club, however, had bigger fish to fry. An all-important senior class field trip which would see them tour the city of Kyoto was on the cards in a few days. It was up to them and the whole of Class 3-2 to seize the day—carpe diem—and make the most of it.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 3**


	4. High Voltage

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 4:**

**High Voltage**

**

* * *

**

Ui Hirasawa was a student that thrived on a change of scenery. She always liked to see different cities, different towns, different types of people. To Ui, traveling meant a whole lot to her because it enriched her appreciation for the world around her. Ui believed in peace, not war. Resolutions, not conflicts. Agreements, not aggression. And to do that, when the opportunity came, traveling was a must.

As she prepared her belongings for the upcoming trip inside the living room, she produced a list that she compiled the previous evening. "Hmmmm..." Ui had to glance this over so that she didn't have missed a single article. "Let's see. Handkerchief and tissue paper...check. Brochures...check. Snack stash...check. Toiletries...check. Clothes...check plus plus." Of course, she had enough clothes to last the trip—and some. Now it was time to check that the exotic items in the inventory were accounted for. "Vibrator...check. Condom box...check. Variety box of dildos, ben wah balls and other related trinkets...check. iPod loaded with high-energy music and porn grooves clocking at 10,000 songs minimum...check." A nod. "All right. Looks like this baby is all set and ready to go."

Yui Hirasawa walked into the room, yawning boisterously. "Onee-chan, morning. What are you doing?"

"Oh, morning Yui. I'm just getting everything set for the trip to Kyoto."

"Ooooh. I've never been to that place. What are you gonna do down over there anyway?"

"Well, I'm going to go see some temples and talk to some locals in their dialect and go cruising around."

"Oooooh, cruising. Sounds like fun. Can I come?"

"No you can't, Yui. You have to be a senior."

She pouted dejectedly. "Awww."

Ui looked at her watch. "Looks like the time is at hand. I'm off, then."

"Onee-chan, have a nice trip!"

"You got it!" Soon after, Ui was off, on her date with destiny. It wasn't going to be the last date, either.

The bullet train flew past Tokyo into the Kansai region like an angel on a wing and a prayer, as if hordes and hordes of cherubim and seraphim were singing its arrival from the Kanto plains. Since Azusa was only a sophomore, she would sit this trip out. Her senior trip would not take place until 2011.

"Oh boy, everybody, here comes a one-way ticket to heaven!" Ritsu Tainaka said, stretching exuberantly.

"You know we ARE coming back after this is done, right?" Mio Akiyama reminded.

"Duh, we are Mio, but I was just saying. This just fires me up like a hot rod on Friday night."

"Where the heck do you get all these superlatives?"

"The mind, Mio. The mind."

"Tch. Figures. By the way," she noticed, "don't put your feet on the seat, all right?" Ritsu pouted.

"She's right, you know," Ui said as Tsumugi Kotobuki took a good look at the itinerary. "Better mind your manners."

"Easy for you to say, Miss Perfect!" Ritsu shot back.

"Ouch, that kills! What were you thinking?"

Mio snuck a sneaky remark aside. "Was she even?"

"I don't think so."

"Great minds think alike."

Ritsu could not believe the backstabbing before her very eyes. "I hate you all!"

"By the way," Mio said to Ui, "you may want to put away that Pocky box."

Ui swallowed a strawberry Pocky stick whole. "I beg your pardon?"

She was in shock. "How the hell were you able to do that without choking?" Ui did it again. "Son of a bitch..." She proceeded to hand some boxes to other passengers seated behind them.

"Here you go. Presents from the Hirasawa combine!" Ui said to the other passengers. "Enjoy!"

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..."

Tsumugi offered some tea. "Here. Have some tea. Drink up."

Eventually she gave in, sipping. "Thanks."

"That's Mugi for you," Ritsu inferred. "Everyone, let's take a picture together. How about it?"

"Good idea," Ui replied. "What say you, Mio, Mugi?"

Mio was bewildered by the over enthusiasm. "Could both of you chill out for a bit?"

"Oh, come on Mio," Ritsu said in a bubbly tone, "it's gonna be another memento for the Light Music Club scrapbook. Let's do this." She whipped out the camera.

Ui concurred. "That's what she said."

Miss Sawako Yamanaka noticed the discussions from the front. "You guys in the back; be seated down there please! Don't stand if you don't need to!"

"Oh come on," Ritsu said, "we DO. Mio wanted us to take pictures!"

Ui concurred again. "That's what she said!"

"Enough already," Sawako replied, "back to your seats! You can do your photo-shooting when we get off."

"Get in the picture with us, Miss Sawako!" Ritsu added.

"Come on, join us!" Ui added. "Wait a minute; did you just call her Miss Sawako, Ricchan?"

"I like to be versatile."

"Not now, you girls!" Eventually, she did take part. One more photo for the scrapbook was in order.

Later on, she retired to a hallway between compartments, her inner child planning the next move. "Don't worry, Sawako," it said to her. "You can still do it. Believe in yourself!"

As Jun Suzuki played a game of Texas Hold 'Em with three others on her train and Himeko Tachibana played Solitaire on her iPod, the conversations continued in earnest. This time, the topic was on onigiri. "So what I'm hearing," Ui said to the other three in the back with her, "is all bollocks as far as I'm concerned. I mean, I want the rice ball to be wrapped in nori from the get-go. It tastes good when it's soft. Isn't that how you're supposed to do it?"

"Not true, dear Ui," Ritsu said, still sitting with her legs crossed like a pretentious Buddha with a headband. Such a Pharisee. Ui shook her head at Mio, as if to say, here we go again. "Silly kid. You wrap the rice in nori right before you eat it, and then you enjoy the crispness while savoring in its almighty fragrance. The taste of God is the taste of God when you do it the way He wants you to!"

"What is this, Episode 1 of Lucky Star all over again?" Mio said sheepishly while Tsumugi worked on a few chocolate Pocky sticks. Obviously, she was interested in the whole melodrama.

Ritsu noticed the Mount Fuji looming ahead. "There is it, Ui! The almighty Mount Fuji!"

Ui was in awe of one of Japan's symbols. "One of the reasons for our existence. That big snow-covered peak in the background, piercing through the skies."

"Ritsu, you are such a brat, you know that?" Mio said in disgust as Ui put her snacks away before getting a view of the peak. "Gee whiz..."

"That IS one of the reasons for our existence," Ritsu said. "As proud citizens of Japan."

"This picture is going to Azunyan's cell in 5...4...3...2...1...pic sent!" Ui said triumphantly, sending a snapshot from her mobile. "And it's sent. That is one big mountain right there."

"I can see those clouds passing by like dancing faeries," Ritsu said as Mio looked away with a bemused expression.

"Are you sure this is a train and not an airplane? What do you think?"

"Jesus H. Christ, you two," Mio said disgustingly. She remembered when Jun told her that she couldn't be in her group due to the limitations of four people per. So as a result, she was stuck with hanging with her light music clique, although Tsumugi kept an even keel on things. Further complicating matters was to make sure that Ui didn't go out on a limb with her out-of-the-box thinking. Ui wasn't the main issue here. Ritsu was.

"Hey Mio! Mio, take a picture with us!" Ritsu squealed, poising with Ui. "Come on, do it! With Mount Fuji sitting behind us!"

"God dammit..." She was close to tears. Jun could sense that Mio was feeling the heat from her best friend, more than anything, as she focused on the turn, the flop and the river.

* * *

"Kyoto, Kyoto," said the train conductor as the Tokaido shinkansen made its stop at Kyoto Station, located in Shimogyo Ward, at Platform 13. "For those of you getting off here please be sure to take all your belongings with you. Thank you for riding JR Central."

Finally, Sakuragaoka's senior class made it to the imperial capital of Japan, the old capital of the old Empire. Kyoto was a city full of festivals, a 1,000-year old tradition that never wavered. Universities like Kyoto University, Doshisa, Kyoto Institute of Technology and Ritsumeikan ensured that many of the country's scholars came straight out of the Kansai. And of course, there were those temples, the most famous of them being Kiyomizu-dera, an independent Buddhist temple in the east side of town.

"All right, we are here!" Ritsu exclaimed, leaping to the heavens.

"Exactly, Ricchan," Ui said. "This is the city."

"You know where we have to go first?" Mio asked Tsumugi, still looking at the map and itinerary.

"Let's see here...from Kyoto Station, we ride a bus to..."

Ritsu finished the sentence "Kinkaku-ji, y'all!"

"You know?" Mio asked.

"Yeah, y'all!"

"Are you speaking in Kansai-ben again?"

"See, this here's where I do more of mah versatility, see. When in Rome, I like to do 'em like the Romans, and when I'm in the Kansai, I gots to do 'em like the Kansai. S'all there's to it. So everyone of y'all gotta do it the same way, else y'all be in for a culture shock. It's a fun game, too. Try it."

"A game, too, Ricchan?" Ui was interested. "Don't mind if I do!"

"Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!" Mio was disgusted at the overt showiness of Ritsu.

Naturally, the four of them were at the front as Miss Sawako gave out instructions to Class 3-2. "Is everyone present?" she asked. "Group leaders, please check to be sure."

"The hell is she making us sit here?" Ritsu said to Mio disgustingly. "Why, gosh darn it?"

"That's because she is taking roll," Mio replied. "There always tends to be someone who goes missing, and we have to find that person. It's called accountability."

Miss Sawako went on with her debriefing. "And please walk in a like so that we don't get in the way of other people."

"Well she's here," Ritsu said, referring to Ui, who was too busy listening to Sade's "Kiss of Life" on her iPod.

"She eats Pocky, and then listens to smooth jazz that is soothing as hell," Mio observed. "That's Ui for you."

"Talk about cultured."

"Well would you believe that," Ui said, pointing at the skyscraper from below just outside the station as the speakers blared out Masami Okui's Rinbu Revolution. "That's Kyoto Tower. Looks like a daikon. Speaking of which, nearby Osaka hosted the Japan Science Fiction Convention in 1964, 1971, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1993 and 2008 under the nickname DAICON. This city hosted the convention in 1974 under the nickname MIYACON."

"How the hell do you know all this?" Ritsu asked with a puzzled look painted on her face. She thought it over. "Oh never mind, now."

"Take a shot, sunshine."

Ritsu did. "Hey you guys!" Miss Sawako called out. "Hurry up and board the bus, or we'll leave without you!"

"That's one more for Azunyan," Ui said triumphantly as she took her seat with the others.

"You actually follow the Japan SF Conventions?" Mio asked.

"Well, here's the thing: I loved the opening ceremony animation," Ui said, working on a box of Vanilla Pocky, "for DAICON III and DAICON IV. And thus, the bunch of night hawks from GAINAX was born."

"Oh boy, now we're going into a history of anime and manga of the 1980's and the 1990's?"

"You want to? I can, if you want."

"I'll pass."

* * *

The coach passed into the heart of the city, down the old machiya townhouses that dated back to the era before World War II. That was another of Kyoto's charms: it was spared the damage laid on other cities like Osaka and especially Tokyo at the request of one Henry L. Stimson. Ui, Mio, Ritsu and Tsumugi were in awe of the historical significance of these structures that the coach passed through.

Today, the class would not go to Kiyomizu-dera, but to another temple in the city, the Kinkaku-ji Temple. Designated as a National Special Historic Site and a National Special Landscape, Kinkaku-ji is one of 17 World Cultural Heritage sites in Kyoto and is known for its garden that dates back to the Muromachi Period. The word Kinkaku-ji means "Temple of the Golden Pavilion." True to its moniker, the temple features a shariden gilded with gold and houses a bevy of relics of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. It is known officially as the Rokuonji, or "Deer Garden Temple," due to the presence of deer surrounding the temple on Mount Hokuzan.

"Let's go, you guys!" Ui said, skipping off the bus ahead of the others. "Come on!" The other three all had to catch up with her because she was running so fast. "Look at this garden. And the temple. This is awesome! I've never seen anything like this."

"You ain't kidding one darn bit," Ritsu said. "This knocks my socks off!"

"That is one shiny temple," Mio concurred.

"Gilded with gold, no less," Mugi said.

"Absolutely."

"I love Kyoto, and Kyoto loves me, don't ya know!" Ui proclaimed.

"And don't ya know Kyoto loves ya back!" Ritsu replied. They both chest bumped.

"That's what I'm talking about, y'all!"

"Sho nuff! But you better not think of scraping off any them flakes down there, y'know? Cause, y'know, ya gonna git yerself caught by the cops and put ya in the hoosegow."

"What makes ya say that, pardner? We jus' came to git us a visit here, see?"

"Amen."

"But see, Ricchan, that there is one big-ass temple. If Yui was here, I tell ya, she wish that was made of chocolate so she could eat that bad boy down and done with!"

"Ain't kiddin' 'bout that."

"Such a drag," Mio thought. She then spoke. "We're not from here, you two. It's okay to speak like we are from Tokyo, because we are. Be true to yourself."

"Awwww, come on Mio. I was having fun speaking like the locals."

"I keep telling you, we aren't locals! We're tourists! Actually, students. Student-tourists! That's it."

Mugi gave a bit of a history of the place. "The site of Kinkaku-ji was originally a villa called Kitayama-dai, belonging to a powerful statesman, Saionji Kintsune. Kinkaku-ji's history dates to 1397, when the villa was purchased from the Saionjis by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and transformed into the Kinkaku-ji complex. When Yoshimitsu died, the building was converted into a Zen temple by his son, according to his wishes. During the Onin war, all of the buildings in the complex aside from the pavilion were burned down. On July 2, 1950, at 2:30 am, it was burned down by a monk named Hayashi Yoken, who then attempted suicide on the Daimon-ji hill behind the building. He survived, and was subsequently taken into custody. The monk was sentenced to seven years in prison, but was released because of mental illness on September 29, 1955; he died of other illnesses shortly after in 1956.

"The present pavilion structure dates from 1955, when it was rebuilt. The reconstruction is said to be an exact copy of the original, although some doubt such an extensive gold-leaf coating was used on the original structure. In 1984, the coating of Japanese lacquer was found a little decayed, and a new coating as well as gilding with gold-leaf, much thicker than the original coatings (5/10,000mm instead of 1/10,000mm), was completed in 1987. Additionally, the interior of the building, including the paintings and Yoshimitsu's statue, were also restored. Finally, the roof was restored in 2003. And that, dear soul sisters of rock and roll, is the history of Kinkaku-ji, which is officially known as Rokuon-ji."

"Where the hell did you get that history?" Mio asked, turning to Tsumugi with Ritsu and Ui following suit.

"Wikipedia, verbatim."

"Shit, I should have known you were that much of an online bookworm."

She placed a finger to Mio's lips. "Now, now, now, I don't want you talk dirty to one of your friends. You know better, right?"

"Fine, whatever."

"Good girl."

"That's Tsumugi Kotobuki for you," Ui said, nudging Ritsu. "Fair, but firm."

"And bold, I might add," Ritsu replied in tears, returning to the regular Tokyo accent she was accustomed to. "She knows a lot more than we will ever know."

"And that's what so great about her," Ui replied, applauding with Mio to Tsumugi. "Old habits die hard."

"Hello, hello, hello, they serve some green tea and sweets at the cafe," Ui noticed while reading a sign near the entrance. "Shall we take a bit of a break and soak these environs in? What say the rest of you?"

"I think that would be a good idea," Ritsu said with a grin. "What about you, Mio, Mugi?"

"Really, that stuff is no different from what we serve—well, what Mugi serves—after class," Mio replied.

"So? What's wrong with that?"

Tsumugi was in. "Let's have some, let's have some!"

Once again, Mio was outvoted. Three against one, and so she gave in.

It wasn't anything too pretentious. A small square block of candy and a bowl of freshly prepared matcha were on the house. A tantalizing combination.

"Let's give this a try," Ritsu said. She took a sip.

"According to the etiquette of tea ceremonies," Tsumugi said as Ui took visual notes, "you have to eat the candy before the tea."

"I see."

"Basically, it brings out the bitterness of the tea leaves better and balances it with the sweetness." Ui took one of the pieces of candy, and then drank her bowl. "See? She's doing it right."

"Ritsu," Mio scolded, "you should brush up on some of the rules of proper etiquette, too." But for Ritsu, such restricting formalities never registered much in her head. It was about being informal, being casual. This was a whole new world for her, and it was one she wanted to get out of in a hurry.

"Exactly, dearest Mio," Ui said. "Lady Ritsu, I fancy that a classless rascal like you will need to watch your manners while consuming this delightful beverage in these hallowed grounds, less the worst comes to pass."

Ritsu was defiant in her response. "Easy for you to say, you trite Pockyholic! Bloody oath."

An hour after touring Kinkaku-ji, the coach proceeded on its Kyoto magical mystery tour to Kitano Tenman-gu, a Shinto shrine in Kamigyo Ward. Built in 947 A.D., the Kitano Tenman-gu was created to appease the wrath of Sugawara no Michizane, a scholar, poet, and politician of the Heian Period of Japan. The grounds of this temple are full of plum blossoms, or ume, the man's favorite tree. As Michizane was a man of great knowledge and wisdom, the temple is popular with students who wish to pray for success in their exams, and it is for this reason that Miss Sawako's Class 3-2 passed by Kitano Tenman-gu, which also hosts flea markets on the 25th of each month.

"So this is Kitano Tenman-gu, huh?" Ui said, in awe of the large torii awaiting them. Next to the parking was a statue of a cow, decked with a bell, cords and paper.

"Is this also a famous place?" Ritsu asked.

She chuckled hesitantly. "Judging by the looks of it...you're probably right."

"You know, we also have shrines around our school as well, so I really don't know what distinguishes this one from all the others," she replied with her hands behind her head casually as the four of them paced the grounds.

"Yui may think there may be a daibutsu here, but since this is a Shinto shrine, she would be disappointed." A daibutsu is a giant Buddha. They saw one at Kinkaku-ji, a huge one.

"Spot on," Mio said. "You know your shrines and your temples. But who am I kidding? You're Ui Hirasawa. You know all."

"As Tsubasa Hanekawa of the show Bakemonogatari would say, 'I only know what I know.' And that, my friend, is the bottom line," Ui said with a wink.

"Right."

"Aha, there you are," Jun said with a smile. "So, Mio, were you successful in preventing Ui from going off the deep end?"

"To an extent."

"Close enough. Anyway, the god enshrined here, Sugawara no Michizane, is the 'God of Academics,' so it says on this itinerary. People who need to prepare for college entrance exams come here. There are seniors from high schools all over the country that come to this shrine, from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south."

"Told you this was a famous place," Ui said to Ritsu.

Jun led the four to a cow statue. "You see all of these cow statues throughout the shrine," she explained. "Rub the head like this, and it should make you smarter."

Ui gave it five strokes and beamed. "That's it?"

"That's it."

"Mmmmm."

However, Ritsu had other...more sinister plans. She vigorously rubbed the head as if it was Buddha's belly. "Come on, bring me good luck, bring me good luck!" she squealed. Ui shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head.

Jun was worried for Ritsu. "Actually, rubbing it too hard, too long might bring her bad luck." If Ritsu kept it going long enough, she might tip the poor thing over!

"Tainaka, what are you doing!" Sawako exclaimed, scolding the four of them. "You've already rubbed it long enough. Stop already, sheesh!"

Jun's clairvoyance never failed to impress her. "I knew it."

"So, as we continue this tour of the Kitano Tenman-gu," Ui said to the others, "we see some ema in our crosshairs!" Ritsu took notice of sign next to a plethora of wooden plaques where worshippers wrote their prayers and wishes. "How about that."

"Damn! There's a gripload of them! Talk about knocking on wood! All right Ui, we know what to do! This is gonna be a memento for the ages. Let's write some!"

"Let's send these wishes to the gods that be. Brilliant!"

"Hell yeah! It's ema time!"

"Cow-abunga!" The two of them walked off to make their plaques.

"The gods will reject this." Little did a deadpanning Mio realize how wrong she would be down the road.

Back at the gift shop, a hesitant Sawako made a purchase. "Um...I would like to have one match-making good luck charm, please," she asked the cashier in miko attire.

"No problem, that will be 600 yen," she replied, procuring the good as Sawako paid up. "Here you go. Enjoy."

"Thank you." That would be something she would treasure as the countdown to destiny began.

"O gods! My heavenly gods! Come to us!" Ui exclaimed with passion and burning desire.

"Please come for from your celestial throne and shower your glory to your people!" Tsumugi testified wholeheartedly. "Make them come true, forever!"

"Hear the maidens' prayers!" Ritsu proclaimed, joining in the three-woman running séance. "Hear them! Hear them! Can I get a witness up in here!" Mio had to chase the other three, bumping into trash cans, old ladies, infants...the whole shebang-bang-boogie all day long. "You seriously think this crap is going to really work?"

Ui know what to add. "As the Quakers would say, 'I hope so!' By the way, that means Hell Yes!"

"Please let them come true!" Tsumugi added, adding fire to the beseeching as Mio continued to pursue them. "Let them, let them!" Miss Sawako was starting to get annoyed by the uncommon ruckus going on at the Kitano Tenman-gu.

"Oops, I forgot to throw in the money," Ritsu added. "D'oh!"

"The hell you did!" Ui said, running like the wind with the others. "Let's try this again, from the top!"

"Da-da-da-da-DAAAAA! CHAAAARGE!"

"Goddamit, what the hell is wrong with you girls!" Sawako shouted in tears, stopping them in their tracks. "Are you fuckoffs doing this on purpose?"

"Sawa-chan, I believe you were way off base with that statement."

Tsumugi chimed in. "She's right. We came here to hang the ema with our wishes on it."

"Exactly," Ui added. "We wanted our wishes to have a good impression." For Ritsu, it was about getting their first gig at Budokan. For Mio, it was acceptance at a college of her choice, while Tsumugi wanted to also pass the college entrance exams. As for Ui, she wanted that, the Budokan gig, and to protect Yui by being the best older sister she could be. As with all of their work, Ui drew an illustration of a guitar with a face, a symbol of Gitah's spiritual presence in Class 3-2.

Sawako reached her limit with the shenanigans at the shrine. "Quit making this crap up, the lot of you! Let's go already!" The evening was approaching.

"Right, right..." The typical time-wasters. But Hokago Tea Time's mark was there for future visitors to see. Some time down the road, tourists would take photos of that, aside from the usual sights and ritual obligations.

* * *

A hotel in the outskirts of Kyoto was where the entire class would stay for the night. The rooms didn't have too much fanciness like the Best Westerns, Hyatts, Westins or Hiltons of the world. It just had the essentials: a bath, a closet to put away clothes, a cupboard where a King James Bible—of all things—was located, and a television that had all the terrestrial channels plus ESPN and CNN. It was a hotel with the bare essentials. Oh yes, and it had wireless, but none of the girls brought it with them. Ui was close to bringing hers, but realized that since it was a short stay, there was no need.

"Holy cow, I just realized something," Ui said, relaxing on the tatami in the room she shared with Mio, Mugi and Ritsu. "I'm spent. That was a great first day, you guys."

"Geez, you had me scared back there at the Kitano Tenman-gu," Mio said as she took her blazer off.

"Better get changed first, Ui,' Ritsu said.

"You don't have to remind me," she said, getting up to change into her track suit in the bathroom. "I already know."

"Hey, a little reminder never hurt nobody..."

"Fair enough, fair enough."

Tsumugi opened the closet door to test the fluffiness of the pillows. With a pump of her fists, she concluded to herself that they met/exceeded her standards and that the whole crew would get a good night's rest with flying colors. The staff did their job.

They turned to Mugi, who closed the closet. "What's up, Mugi?" Ritsu asked to her, who gave a thumbs-up and a grin. "A-ha..."

* * *

Mio zipped up her track suit jacket to finish the change. "All right you guys, I think since we have some time to crash, we should make some tea. You got it all set down there, Mugi?"

"Yes, I do, Captain," she replied in the manner of a flight attendant. With her was an electric hot water maker, some packets and some snacks. And of course, Ui had most of her stash of Pocky available for an immediate boost of carbohydrates.

Ui was too busy listening to "Beautiful World" by Hikaru Utada while playing Solitaire. "This is why a little Apple a day keeps the boredom away."

"That's not an apple; that's an iPod," Ritsu said sheepishly.

"But it's made by Apple, Ricchan. Do you see where I'm going with this one?"

Ritsu smirked "Oh. Tch, yeah. Now I do."

"Yeah, that's because the fruit known as an apple is different from a product—i.e. the one in my hand—made by company known as Apple."

"Guilty as charged, then. Hey Mio, I got a deck of cards we can use. Will that work?"

"Hey guys, let's try this one out," Mugi suggested. Make It A Hit was something that she played with her family for a few years, and some of the house staff even joined in where there was certainly nothing to do. She had enough room in her suitcase to pack the game inside.

"Hey, we have that at our house as well," Ritsu chimed. "Good idea. Let's do it."

Ui turned off her iPod and charged it. "Tsumugi Kotobuki saves the day again."

"Saved you from your boredom," Mio said sheepishly. "And your iPod overdose."

"Exactly."

"So in this game," Ritsu said, "you're trying to be a celebrity with whatever. I love this one."

"Let's do it while eating something," Ui suggested. "Kill two birds with one stone."

"Yes, let us!" Ui stood up to grab some Almond Pocky from her snack stash to share. She tossed one of the satchels to Ritsu, another to Mio and another to Mugi.

"I've always wanted to try one of these," Tsumugi said, working on one. "These are pretty good."

Mio wondered why they would even go through this. "Dinner's going to be on the way anyway; I'm not sure why we have to play this if we don't need to."

"Leave it to me, leave it to me," Ui said, getting a box of Chocolate Pocky.

"We'll be full; don't you worry," Ritsu assured.

"Man, you'd better be able to finish everything," Mio warned.

She rested a hand on Mio's shoulder. "Ease up, Mio. I will."

Little did she know how wrong she was, after 30 minutes of gaming. That's because a generous dinner was on the house. It consisted of salmon rolls, four other types of sushi, shrimp and vegetable tempura, soba and rice, replete with tea, and a little wasabi and soy sauce for garnish.

"Hey, are you able to finish that?" asked Haruko Chikada, who was sitting next to Ritsu, who was in obvious discomfort.

"I can't," she said. "You can have it."

"All right." Of all the students in the class, Haruko was the hungriest of them all. She proceeded to clean out Ritsu's set meal. Thank Michizane that there are students with gluttonous appetites. Meanwhile, Ui had already cleared out her plate with flying colors. "You know, that's quite a waste and you know that, right, Ricchan?"

She was disconsolate. "Shut up."

"You know, I like how all of the flavors mesh with each other on that one," Ui said to Mio and Mugi. "I really need to know how to make a set meal like that. It just looked perfect from the beginning."

"Easy for you to say; you wolfed the whole thing down!" Mio exclaimed.

"With flying colors." Tsumugi had to smile.

There was also an onsen on-site, and the four of them couldn't wait to soothe their weary souls. "Hey Mio," Tsumugi said, creeping up to her, "you have really pretty hair."

She blushed. "Eh? Y-you think so? No one's ever told me that before. Thank you."

"But of course."

"Taking of care of my hair during the winter is quite troublesome because it gets real dry."

"What type of shampoo do you use?"

"Well, I'll go for the record here to say that it's probably not the stuff you have in your bathroom."

"Really? I can bring you some my house next time..."

"No, no, no, no, that's all right. I can manage with what I have at home."

She crept closer. "You sure?"

"Well, you have pretty hair too. Do you get it permed?"

"Yes, I do."

"Wow. Awesome-hyaaah!" Before she knew it, she was getting groped lovingly by Tsumugi.

"Whoa, they are starting to get real big," Mugi said in amazement.

"Why are you feeling me up like this, this is so, this is so...haaah!"

"I never knew they were this huge. I'm so glad I am able to touch the beautiful side of you, Mio-chan." Through the controlled moans, she could sense that Mio was enjoying this but would cause a mess in the onsen if it all gushed out.

"Hey Ricchan," Ui said, "how are you feeling?" She could notice the trickle of blood spilling out from Ritsu's naughty smile and chuckles. "I take it that's a mood that's too hot to trot."

"Those two have such huge boobs...why? Why can't I have them as big as theirs? Oh the shame! I guess I'll just have to do this."

"What are you going to-aaaah!" Ui was getting groped on by a salivating Ritsu.

"They feel so big and so soft...heehee!"

Her heaves got desperately pronounced. "You're doing it all wrong! You have to move your hand up and down. Here, you have to feel them for all they are worth so I can...so I can...haaah!"

"I'm actually being guided here?" Ritsu had to relent to the motions.

"This...is how...my sister grabs me...and the way she does it...it feels so good..."

"You're right! I'm actually going deeper into your softness. This...-this is unreal!" Ritsu noticed that she was actually rubbing on Ui unconsciously and couldn't stop the impending tribadism. "You're actually enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Oh, don't stop...don't stop!" Ritsu's guided groping and Ui's subsequent Ritsugasms caught the attention of Mio and Mugi, the latter getting a nosebleed of her own.

"Oh my God, what the hell are you two doing?" Mio said with a disgusted look on her face.

Ui's answer said it all. "Haa...haa...getting...haa...haa...getting...off..."

Tsumugi's eyes sparkled. "Dontakoi desu."

"And we were having such a nice conversation about proper hair care until this had to happen!" Mio wailed as Mugi continued to massage her boobs with a more vigorous pace, almost electric. "Dammit! Damn you all!"

"My God, that was a transcending experience at its finest," Ritsu said while scarfing down a bottle of milk as they changed back into their track suits. "I hope I can do it again one day."

'You want to pace yourself with that; else it will corrupt your mind for life," Ui reminded her as she blow-dried her hair before putting back on her clips.

"I always wanted to have my hair grow longer."

Ui chuckled. "That would fit you. Go for it. Did you want to grow taller, too?"

She spit out the remaining milk she was drinking as if on cue. "The hell did you have to say that?" Ritsu was shorter than Mio and envied her height and her bust.

"Because I can, Miss Grope-A-Lot!"

"You made me go deeper into you; what are you talking about? Grrrr!"

"You shouldn't have spat that out, either, by the way."

Her pitch got childish. "Whatever, I will grow taller, Mommy!"

"I wasn't forcing you, if it makes you any better..." The damage had already been done. "And I'm not your mother either."

* * *

"Good arrangement here, Mugi," Mio said, taking a look at the comforters and pillows on the tatami. "I'm impressed."

"As a matter of fact," she explained, "I visited many different parts of this country and I asked hosts and hostesses how they arrange pillows and pillowcases. I ask how they ensure high quality, superior service, and an overall enjoyable stay to keep themselves in business. This is one way to do it. I tested the pillows to ensure that they are at a standard that will allow you enjoy a good night's rest, and I believe that they got it down pat. So you should have no problems. This is a good hotel, too."

"Cool."

"Actually, I have a little bit of an idea here. Hang on a bit." She proceeded to punch her pillow to make it extra fluffy. She was on high voltage, itching for the good ol' pillow fight.

"All right, guys, I'm going to turn this off," Mio said, turning off the chandelier with a pull of the switch.

"I've already set the alarm to 6:00 a.m.," Ui added.

"That's good. We have to get up early tomorrow; there's a lot of places we're going to check out down here." Tsumugi threw her pillow at Ui with pinpoint. "Hey Mugi, what the hell are you doing?"

"Miss Mio, Kotobuki did it!" Ritsu said as her pillow got chucked at Mio's face by Mugi the Mischievous.

"Whoa, quit your cheating; I didn't get set up here with the right music," Ui said, plugging her iPod to a device in the room that turned the iPod into a radio, setting the music to "Don't Slow Down" by Matt & Kim. "Let's get ready to rumbllllllllllle!" Soon after, Ritsu threw Mio's pillow in Ui's direction, hitting squarely in her face.

"Hahah! Missy, you are in a war zone, where no woman is safe and every girl is an island," Ritsu said, fired up before getting slammed across the room by the same pillow she threw back. It also sent her flying. "Ooof!"

Tsumugi joined in, throwing one in Ritsu direction. Another direct hit. The socialite was on a roll. That's three.

"You should be on the baseball team or compete in the javelin," Ui said as an aside to Tsumugi. "You got quite an arm."

"Thank you. I never fail to impress. Ooof!" She let down her guard as Ui got her payback.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Now we're even Steven."

"All right, now you punks have done it," Ritsu said in full vibrational mode. "Take...THAT!" Unfortunately for Miss Sawako in her magenta track suit, she picked the wrong time to walk in. Bad timing for the teacher, worse timing for the light music club. And while Ritsu could pass for a competitor in the hammer throw (albeit barely), it was slow enough for Mugi to dodge and hit Sawako right between the eyes. At the military academies, they would be fried 6,000 for such conduct; that is, expelled. Here, it was lights out.

"Dammit, my bad luck never seems to go away with you pillow-fighting rats," she said, her hair disheveled and her limit broken while the four of them went to bed almost immediately. "Cut it out already or else the next time we have class I will make every one of you stand in the hall, carrying buckets of water, regardless of how you behave! Urgh!" She walked to Ritsu, stepping on her tushie as she turned off the. "Tainaka, you are continuing to disappoint me with your inexcusable conduct! You are on a dangerous path and you know it! Get off it this instant and behave yourself from now on! Everyone of you, go to sleep already! We got a lot of stuff to do tomorrow! Good night!" Sawako exclaimed, slamming the door shut before storming out of the hall. "I should have just stayed as the music teacher instead of going homeroom with these bastards..."

"Oh man, that was close as fuck," Ritsu said with a sigh.

"The hell?" Mio said. "You jackass, why the hell did you throw that pillow in Miss Sawako's direction? Asshole!"

"Shut up! It's her fault for stepping into friendly fire!"

"But it's your fault for shooting your pillow at her while trying to target Mugi. You suck at pillow-throwing, and the track and field team would not even give you a shot at competing in the hammer throw because you would poke somebody's eye out! Motherfucker!"

"Bitch, please." Ritsu turned the switch back on, her eyes sparking payback. "Mugi, you better believe that this fight's just getting started! You ready?"

"Bring it. Ui-chan's the only one that's hit me so far, and you couldn't hit the blind side of a barn with that throw," she replied. "What kind of a candy-ass throw was that?"

"Oh, not again," Mio moaned, rolling her eyes. "Damn!"

"That was only a warm-up, you blonde primadonna," Ritsu bluffed. "The real heat's coming right about...NOW!" And the action continued as Fatboy Slim's "Rockefeller Skank" played in the background.

"Uff! A direct hit! She got me! But that's just gonna get me going even more, HYAAH!"

"Hey, let me join in the fun, you punks!" Ui said, grabbing her pillow to throw at Ritsu. "All for fun and fun for all! The Funk Soul, Brother!"

Mio relented. "Fine, I'll make you rats pay for ruining my beauty sleep tonight! Take this!" A direct hit on Ritsu, followed by one on Mugi. They went at it for the longest time, amid the laughter, merriment, and bonds shared. And all of this wearing track suits.

* * *

After 30 minutes had passed, it was finally time for lights out. While all the other groups were already asleep, they were the last to officially call it a night. "All right guys," Mio said. "I'm gonna turn this baby off."

"Good night," Ui said, and she would not wake up until the alarm rang.

"Good night," Mugi chimed before tucking in.

"That was great, everyone, and you're not too bad yourself, Mio" Ritsu said admirable, in true sportsmanlike fashion. Mio smiled through her disheveled bangs and locks. They were in need of some shampoo because they were most likely dry again.

A few pulls of the switch, and the lights were out. Ritsu was clearly snoring. Ui and Mugi were quiet, like bears in hibernation.

"I found a skull," Tsumugi said. She and Ritsu laughed as she passed the message to Azusa on her cell. Mio was clearly distressed, while Ui was too fast asleep to even hear the discovery.

"Both of you, shut the fuck up already," Mio grunted.

Now it was Ritsu's turn. "Flick-a-fling," she said discreetly. Tsumugi laughed again, whole Mio scowled amid Ui's dormant state. "Flick-a...FLING!"

Tsumugi's laugh was so strong that she snorted. "Hey Mugi, did you snort?" Ritsu said. "Don't tell me you actually brought cocaine with you!" Tsumugi couldn't help the swine-infused gesticulations. "That's not allowed at school! You may even not be able to wake up tomorrow!"

"Don't be worrisome," she said, snorting a little more. "I didn't bring any. You're way too funny, and I couldn't help it!" A few more snorts.

"Sooo-ey!"

"Both of you, don't you two know what 'Shut the fuck up' means?" Mio deadpanned. "Learn it. Geh..."

Ui had to be admired for failing to react, let alone hear anything. She was skilled at closing down, like a TV station ending its broadcast for the day.

* * *

Morning came across the Kansai region, and the four of them awoke to some punk rock. "Oh, that was a good sleep," Ritsu said, stretching. "Is that the Ramones I'm hearing?"

"Yep," Ui replied. I programmed it so that once the alarm hits 6:00, 'Blitzkrieg Bop' is on."

"That's good. Mugi, Mio, wake up."

"I swore I heard some rock in the background," Mio said, stirring.

"Oh, that's the first track from their first album," Tsumugi noticed, stretching while cracking a few knuckles.

"Correct!" Ui said. "Nicely identified."

"But why?"

"You'll know why, right about...now."

"Hey, ho, LET'S GO!" said the unmistakable voice of the late Joey Ramone.

"Ohhhh. All right, let's get going!" It took them about 15 or so minutes for them to wash up and get ready for Day 2 of their trip through the Kansai.

"Okay, is everyone here?" Miss Sawako asked the whole Class 3-2 assembled outside the hotel. She did a quick head count. Soapbox time. "All right, looks like everyone's here. Today is your day. You get to choose where you want to go. This is your city to explore, to savor, and to enjoy. I cannot stress the importance of Carpe Diem. Seize the moment. Live it. Experience it. Now each of your groups has submitted to me a set schedule last week, and I have approved every one of them. Therefore, it is very important that you stick to the schedule you submitted. As your instructor, I strongly advise that you stay together, and not get lost. Finally, if there is any issue, AT ALL, each and every one of you has my cell phone number. If you are lost and you cannot find you way back with the rest of the class by the end of the night, you are to call me immediately. My cell phone is on all day if you need any help. This is a big city, it's a big town, and there's so many things to do. The last thing we want is to leave a Sakuragaoka student behind on the train back home. Do I make myself clear, class?"

"Yes, Miss Sawako!" they all chorused in response.

"I want you guys to be back here by six o'clock tonight. So you have 11 hours to enjoy Kyoto. Have fun!"

Unfortunately for Miss Sawako, Ritsu wanted a head start, and was walking with Ui, conversing. "So how the heck did you get those snacks?"

"Elementary, Ricchan. FamilyMart had a sale: Pocky boxes: 6 for 500 yen. I had to snap it up. I also bought some other stuff as well. But it was the Pocky in stock that was for sale."

"Gotcha."

"Tainaka, Hirasawa, get back down here!" Sawako exclaimed. "Dammit you two, I keep calling both of you numbskulls out again and again!"

"So much for the head start."

Ritsu froze. "Yeah, so much for that!"

"All right, let's take a look at our itinerary today," Mio said to Tsumugi. "First off, we're going to visit Arashiyama."

"Should we go take a taxi to get there on time?"

Mio knew that anytime Tsumugi was with them, any taxi ride would do. "That would give us extra time, and a head start on the others." Of course, it could be done, but there was one problem. "Hey, where the heck are Ui and Ritsu?"

"That's a good question." They both turned and saw Ui and Ritsu peering through the window of a music store, Ritsu face squarely on the window. "Question answered. Window-shopping for instruments."

Ritsu was fired up for this one through her piercing eyes and deep blushes. "All right, baby bubba, this is our first stop! Rock City!"

"You jackasses, why the hell do we need to go to a music store in Kyoto? We already have 10GIA and it's shitloads better than this crap!"

Mugi admired her comeback. "Spoken like a true lady."

"Sarcastic bitch."

"How did you know I was being sarcastic?"

"I can see it in your eyes."

"Ahhhh."

Mio had to smirk before dragging Ritsu away from the store. "Come on! We're heading to Arashiyama right now!"

"Noooo!" Ritsu wailed. "Mio, you meanie, I wanna see the drums! I wanna see the drums, waaaaah!"

"You can go to 10GIA after we get back home, all right?"

"Ohhhh, but Mio...just for a bit, though!"

Ui rolled her eyes. "Crybaby. We're outta this dump, let's roll. Mugi, you got the taxi ready?"

Mugi presented a black cab, complete with driver inside and a heart dashboard at the top. "She's ready to roll."

"Awesome."

Ritsu noticed something. "Mio, they got lefty models here..."

All of a sudden, Mio walked to the window, her face now stuck to the glass. "Oh my god..."

"Change. Of. PLANS!" Ui announced to a crowd of zero. Well, it only took them three minutes, but it was Ritsu that had to drag her to the taxi. An about-face that wouldn't slow down.

* * *

And so they got on the taxi, taking off for Arashiyama. This was a district on the western outskirts of Kyoto, Japan. A mountain across the Oi River, Mount Arashiyama forms a backdrop to the district. Arashiyama boasted sights like the Iwatayama Monkey Park, the Moon Crossing Bridge, the tomb of Kogo of Sagano, Tenryu-ji, the home of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism, the hamlet of Kiyotaki, a home to a noteworthy Shinto shrine, the Matsuo Shrine and its spring that beckons local sake and miso companies for its blessings, and Kameyama Park, where the late Zhou Enlai visited many years ago.

A man and his rickshaw carrying two passengers juxtaposed with old houses and modern automobiles. The old was slowly being absorbed by the new, but for the time being, they were meshing quite nicely.

"Whoa," Ritsu said, soaking in the sights of the district. "So this is Arashiyama! Awesome!"

"Quite a lot of stores here, too," Ui added. "It's perfect."

"And there's quite a lot of folks here, too!"

"Guys, we're heading first to the Moon Crossing Bridge, Togetsu-kyo," Mio said to the other three.

However, it was Iwatayama that drew Ritsu's attention more. "Cool. They got a park full of monkeys here! I could be in this place forever, man."

"You sure could!" Ui agreed, her iPod geared in to Gnarls Barkley.

"Hey you two, we have to stick to the itinerary if we're gonna get out of here on time!" Tsumugi was in awe of the goings-on in Arashiyama.

"Let's go, Ui!" Ritsu said, taking off for Iwatayama.

"¡Vamonos yá! ¡Venga! ¡Venga!" Ui cheered, making the mad dash.

"Come on guys, why the hell do we need to see monkeys down in Kyoto?" Mio exclaimed with her and Mugi giving chase. In her mind, there already was one monkey in her group, and she happened to be playing the drums.

Over 170 monkeys lived at Iwatayama, located on Mt. Arashiyama, which was not far from the Saga-Arashiyama rail station. Visitors can approach and photograph the primates. At the summit is a fenced enclosure, from within which visitors can also feed them. For Ritsu, it was a perfect getaway as they made the dash across the Moon Crossing Bridge while going up the hill. Ironically, Ui set her iPod to a certain 1970's hit from a certain Bill Conti.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Hokago Tea Time (minus Azusa) is here at Iwatayama, everybody!" Ritsu exclaimed out loud. "It's a pleasure."

"This is quite a change of scenery, Ricchan," Ui said. "I never thought I would see so many monkeys frolic around like this; it's unbelievable!"

"There's a great view of the city as well. It's like I'm on top of the world!" Ritsu did a little Rocky dance.

"She's gonna fly now...I agree, though; it's got a good view of Kyoto."

"Wow, amazing," Mio gasped in awe. "I personally didn't expect this great of a view up here."

"I feel as if we're part of this city already," Tsumugi added. "I really do. Hey, you what else?"

"What's that, Mugi?"

She pointed out a spot. "You that rest area over there? That's where we can feed those monkeys."

"I see." Mio turned around to identify the area. For 100 yen, visitors could give the critters their snacks. Legend has it that the monkeys have seen visitors from at least 120 countries. Whether or not the legend has any merit is currently up for debate. It's a pretty high number...for a really low cost.

Mugi was a little bit scared when trying to give the macaque her snack. "You don't have to be scared," Ui said. "These are good buddies. Watch. Here, friend, a present from HTT." The macaque eagerly grabbed the snack and munched it happily, smiling. "See? Give it a try."

"Okay..." She did, and the macaque grabbed it and munched on that, beaming and nodding. "I did it! I did it!"

"Told you it wasn't a problem."

"The human is at first intimidated by the macaque's complexion and countenance and interprets it as one of the threatening variety," Ritsu said in a prim and proper tone while peering with one naked, open eye. "But the macaque is used to interactions with similar humans who plod in various corners of the planet and assures that it will welcome the intimidated female with trust and goodwill. She chooses to break out of her shell and offer a piece of food, to which the macaque consumes and says, in his tongue, 'Thank You.' The female beams and smiles wholeheartedly in her newfound accomplishment. And thus, a new bridge has been built, forged by a deep understanding between primate and primate."

"Are you trying to be like those folks from National Geographic or something, Ricchan?" Ui asked.

"Pretty much."

She chuckled "Not bad."

"Charmed. A-googly-dooogly."

"I had a monkey of a time," Ui said to Ritsu later on as they left Iwatayama.

"You went bananas, that's for sure."

"I don't think they sold any bananas down there."

"You went ape over watching the macaques."

"No gorillas in sight, either. I would like to see one of those things one day."

"You can always buy a costume."

"One King Kong is enough." They all laughed as they got to the souvenir shop. "So, what should we buy?"

"I don't know; these things all look really cute!"

"You know what, we have to buy one for Azunyan."

Mio concurred. "I agree. It's too bad they won't let us bring her along because of the rules, but she's with us in spirit, so let's do this." They didn't realize that a storm system passed through the city, and they all sensed that it put Azusa in a bind.

"I believe we should make it more relevant and buy something that relates to Kyoto," Mugi suggested. "She's gonna have the city and the memories of our trip with her for the rest of her life if we make this purchase."

"Something that relates to Kyoto, huh?" Ui wondered. "Hmmm..."

They all pondered for the longest time. There were many symbols of the city, from weeping willows, to Japanese maples, to the camellia, the azalea, the sugar cherry blossom and the Katsura tree. They could go with a replication of one of those trees. They could with the flag or a trinket of the prefecture's emblem. They could purchase a replica of Kinkaku-ji of Kitano Tenman-gu. And they could take the easy way out and buy a plush monkey from the souvenir store. The last thing the four wanted was to give Azusa a souvenir that represented a part or the entire city, but didn't make her feel as if she was with them in spirit, so they had to do this right without any mistake.

One thing was for sure: Iwatayama was out of the question. So it was off to the shops in Arashiyama to find the answer. "How about we go for this?" Ui suggested. It was a doll of a chibi geisha holding an umbrella, representing the many festivals held in the city throughout the year.

"Or maybe this?" Tsumugi was sporting a stylized samurai jacket and a replica sword, a tribute to the legions of warriors who protected the imperial capital and their emperor for many centuries.

"This has to be it!" Ritsu held a life-size/scaled-down inflatable version of the Kyoto Tower. "Now she definitely has a part of the city in her room."

"Ritsu," Mio deadpanned, "that is the LAST thing she wants, okay?"

"Awwwww."

"So we're gonna give her this." She pointed to a sigh that indicated that the store sold Yatsuhashi, a souvenir sweet and one of the best known meibutsu (famous regional products) of the city. The rationale was this: first, the four of them (with the obvious exception of Mugi) didn't have that huge of a budget (though it was significant), and the suggestions Ui, Mugi and Ritsu offered were too specific and not broad enough. Secondly, everyone in 11 wards of Kyoto knew what yatsuhashi was and so did the people in the Kansai. Everyone knew it and everyone loved it. Yatsuhashi was to Kyoto as chocolate-covered macadamia nuts were to Hawaii. Third, if it was going to be something that Azusa was going to have, it had to remind her of Kyoto. With one bite into that delightful blend of rice flour, sugar and cinnamon, there was no doubt that she would feel as if she was there. And her class was scheduled to visit the same place anyway, so this basically was a preview of what was to come for the younger of the two guitarists while traveling with Yui and Nodoka. Finally, with the money she had, Mugi could buy this in the boxloads and purchase chockfulls of the concoction for all five of them. Heck, she could clear the whole store of its yatsuhashi. But of course, Azusa got first dibs because she was, after all, the special one.

* * *

The sun was starting to continue over the shimmering waters of town, the afternoon sinking in. A couple of cranes conversed with one another. One seemed to say "How's business?" with the other seemed to respond with, "Well, so-so, y'know, the usuals." And the beat went on.

"One heck of a magical mystery tour," Ui said at a local restaurant, where the other groups were meeting, over tea and pastries. "Hey Mugi, you got the yatsuhashi with ya?"

She laughed, and said, "Five large boxloads. In bulk."

"Attagirl."

"You know, I also wanted to check some other spots down here, but I guess we're short on time," Mio inferred.

"It's of the essence, that."

"What?"

"Time."

"Oh."

"I bought some souvenirs and snacks for myself, since I had a good amount of cash for the cause," Ritsu added, carrying her bag of spoils.

"I also got my stash of souvenirs, and the yatsuhashi," Ui said, carrying her bags.

"Woo hoo! You go, girl!"

"All right."

Mio shook her head. "Oh, you two..."

Sensing that Mio was bored out of her socks and disappointed that time failed to stand still, Ui elected to change the pace "Allow me to go into Yui mode once again. You mind?"

"Oh boy," Ritsu grinned to Mugi. "This'll be fun." The music in the background was James Brown's "Paid The Cost To Be The Boss."

"So, I'm thinking to myself as sit here at this restaurant in a city that I have only stepped foot on for barely over a day—that's a 24-hour day, for you night hawks keeping watch—and I ask myself, and I ask you, 'Why the heck do I have so much money?' I don't get it. I just don't get it. I mean, I've got all these—ALL THESE—sacks of stuff, and I still have some cash with me. Am I just spoiled by onee-chan or something?"

"You probably are," the others said in unison.

"That cash slap must have paid its dividends right about now," Ritsu said with a sneaky glare.

"I still don't get it, though," Ui said, playing her younger sister's role down pat.

"I would think it's because you want to buy souvenirs for Ui and your parents," Mio suggested.

Ritsu turned around in shock. "Oh my fucking god! I bought the wrong souvenirs! I just lost the game!"

Ui in Yui mode still didn't get it. "Huh?" She broke out of her role-playing for a bit. "Actually, this is all for Yui, since she would love this. I just hope she cleans after herself. Now back to Yui mode." Ui turned to her bags in horror. "Oh my god, Ricchan, I lost the game too! Dumb minds lose alike! Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, what will onee-chan think of this!"

Mio anticipated the question. "She won't think highly of you, that's for sure, because all the stuff you bought for her she didn't want anyway."

"Oh God, have mercy on my world possessions."

"Yeah, have mercy indeed." Mio yawned. "You idiots really forgot, didn't you?"

Ritsu's head was about to explode. "God damn it, damn it, damn it!" She definitely screwed Satoshi and her 'rents over this time. It was all going downhill for her.

"And Yui mode...done," Ui said. "Well, where off to next?"

A few clouds were in sight, but it was and otherwise wonderful blue heaven above the bridge, the river under the bridge and a marshland in the river under the bridge. A few cyclists could be seen traversing Togetsu-kyo, making the most of their leisure time along the way.

The afternoon was starting to die down, and it was time for the students to get ready to rendezvous with the others. Ui, Mio, Ritsu and Tsumugi would not realize that it would be a difficult endeavor that awaited them.

"The day seems to be wrapping up, so we gotta get back to the hotel in a hurry," Mio said, looking at her watch and the itinerary before slinging her backpack behind her shoulder.

They were at the Katsura River. "Let's go ahead and take the train back," Tsumugi suggested.

"Spot on."

One of the deadly sins that the foursome committed was allowing Ritsu—who had no knowledge of her surroundings whatsoever—to navigate. "The train station is this way! Fol-low me~~~~!" she said in a singsong voice.

"Ritsu, you better know where the station is so we can get back to the hotel from here!" The objective was to get to Arashiyama Station and catch the train on time. Tsumugi would be paying the fare for the four of them. Unfortunately, the result of Ritsu's lack of knowledge saw them walking around other houses in the district, well outside of the station.

"The hell?" Ritsu wondered.

"Jackass!" Mio exclaimed disgustingly. "Are we lost?"

"Don't believe so."

"I can tell a lie when I see it and hear it, Ritsu. You should know this since you've known me all this time. Did you also use the map?"

"Several times over. Rechecking..."

"Logic indicates that if you are looking at a certain place in the map several times over, you're most likely lost. Your lack of logic never fails to amaze me, Ritsu Tainaka."

"Shut up. Can't talk. Rechecking."

Mio placed a palm to her forehead. "Dammit!"

Tsumugi saw Ui pet a local bulldog. "Hey there, old sport," Ui laughed gleefully as the canine gave her a good lick. "Whoa, slow down there, that tickles!"

Tsumugi was in awe of Ui naturalizing herself to the Kansai. She could pass for a resident of Kyoto, and no one would not the difference. Mio, however, could not believe that Ui possessed such an uncanny ability.

"Sit, Ubu, Sit!" Ui said. That actually was the bulldog's name. "Good dog." The bulldog responded a hearty woof. By this point in the day, Jun Suzuki figured that Mio and her group were indeed lost and her control on Ritsu was starting to get tenuous, and so her group decided to head out to bring them back.

* * *

The night went on. "E-Excuse me, ma'am," Ritsu asked hesitant to an 80-year old lady on her daily walk.

"Yes, do you need something?" she responded in her craggy tone.

"How do we get to the train station?"

"Ah, that's not too far from here," the lady said. "You take this street, and turn right when you hit the T intersection."

"I see. Thank you," Ritsu said with a bow before squealing to the others. "See, it worked!"

"I hope you're right this time," Ui said.

"So you have it figured out, I take it?" Mio asked.

"100% Perfectamundo, baby!" Ritsu replied with a victory sign flashing out. "Follow me!" But Ritsu ended up turning left after hitting the T intersection. Too much belatedness could become a bad thing. Somewhere in the back of her consciousness, as they returned right back where they started from, Ritsu regretted rubbing the cow at the Kitano Tenman-gu too fast and too long.

"You motherfucker, we're right back where we started from!" Mio shouted, giving her directionless partner-in-crime a well-deserved headbump as the crows began to caw.

"Owwww!"

"How could all of this crap be happening to us?" she moaned.

"Let's see," Ui recollected. "Based on what we did, Little Miss Directionless with her back turned against us turned left instead of right at the T intersection."

"Why didn't you tell me we turned left!" Ritsu shot back.

"Because we entrusted that you would turn right."

"How is that an excuse!" she wailed. "I won't be able to pass a driver's exam this way!"

Ui put a comforting hand to Ritsu's shoulder. "You're in Kyoto. Believe, Ricchan. Believe!"

"You're not helping things with your purported words of wisdom!"

"I am. Trust me." Ui was left to console Ritsu's incessant sobbing.

"You know, I wish we could figure out where we are right now," Tsumugi said to Mio with a worried expression.

'Shoot, I just hope one of the others parties finds us, that's all."

"You know what, guys?" Ui said to the three of them. "While you figure out what to do, and wait for the others to find us, I'm gonna go see how Azunyan is doing."

"I guess that wouldn't hurt," Mio said.

"Tell her we're dying down here!" Ritsu suggested.

"Like hell I'll do that, Ricchan," Ui replied.

"You can tell her we're enjoying ourselves," Mugi added.

"Leave it to me. Leave it to me." She pressed a few buttons and dialed Azusa's number. Ui knew that she was at the Hirasawa house, but was worried that Yui was being a proper host, so she had to do the checkup.

* * *

Azusa answered the phone. "Hello, who's this?"

Ui couldn't believe the unfamiliarity. "It's me, Azunyan."

"Ui-sempai! How are you?"

"Great. Or, as they say in the Kansai, 'Ma, bochi-bochi denna.' Listen. How are things down at the house. It's not a mess down there, is it?"

"Well, not really," she responded, "but your younger sister seems to be quite a handful. How the hell do you put up with her, Ui-sempai?"

"Simple. I clean up for her."

"Man, that's exactly what I had to do. Her room is a literal mess. It's a pigsty, man! Unbelievable!"

"Onee-chan...ice cream..." Yui moaned in the background.

"Can I speak with her?" Ui asked Azusa.

"Um...sure. Hold on. Yui, it's for you."

"Hi, onee-cha~~~~n!" she squealed.

"Hey there Yui. How you doing?"

"Onee-chan, I want some ice cream!"

"Listen, and I'll be telling Azunyan this too. We're gonna be coming back tomorrow morning and when class is over, we'll stop by the FamilyMart and buy you a few cartons. All on me, your flavor."

"Cool. You're the best, onee-chan!"

"And we're gonna give you some souvenirs. Be sure to put them away when I hand them to you. Don't make a mess."

"Okay."

"All right. Can I go speak with Azunyan?"

"Here you go, Azunyan," Yui said to Azusa, handing the phone over.

"Ui-sempai, how's Kyoto down there?"

"It's a beautiful place. They got some good temples and shrines down here. We also got to feed some monkeys that live in the area, too. And we even tried our hand at speaking the dialect here."

"Hmmmm. Sounds like fun."

"Hey Azunyan, have you heard of yatsuhashi?"

"Oh, that's the sweet that they sell down there, right? Yeah, I've heard of it."

"We're gonna be bringing you a boxload of it when we get back."

"Awesome! Ui-sempai, it had been raining for a while down here and me, Yui and Nodoka had to stay at your house for the night because it was raining like crazy."

"It was?"

"Yeah, it was."

"I hope you didn't get wet."

"No, as a matter of fact we stayed dry."

"That's good. What do you think of some of the pics we sent you?"

"These are great shots, but I don't get the 'skulls' message Ritsu-sempai sent me. But Yui was laughing like crazy when she read the message. And she was coughing."

"I was not!" Yui complained with a pout.

Azusa covered the phone. "Yes, you were!"

"Azunyan?" Ui asked

"Yes?"

"While we're away, I need you to fill my shoes and make sure that Yui does not cause any trouble. Past experiences have told me that she is not a very good host, and because of this, I have to watch her every move because she can be hard to handle at times. Can you do that for me?"

"Actually, Ui-sempai, me and Nodoka have been taking turns watching over her. We actually had some fun and went to a batting cage to practice our swing. So it wasn't too bad. Yui's pretty well-behaved. She just likes to...how can I say this...feel up on me sometimes." Ui snickered in the background. "Is there something funny?"

"No, not really, that's just how she is. But she's the best younger sister I could ever have. You should be fine. I'm gonna go ahead and hang up soon. I hope you guys are safe down there, and we'll be back later on. And be sure to watch over Yui. Don't go too crazy over her, or I will be mad."

A sweatdrop came down Azusa's head. "Y...Yes, Ui-sempai!"

"Okay. Love ya!" And Ui hung up.

* * *

Eventually Jun and her group found the other four. "Ah, there you are," she said. "That's Ui's group. Ui! Mio! We're over here!"

"Hey Jun! Thanks for finding us!" Ui responded.

"You are a lifesaver!" said a crying Ritsu, about to glomp Jun wholeheartedly.

"How do we get to the station?" Jun asked.

Ritsu immediately dove into the ground, just four feet short of the group.

"OUT!" Ui said, delivering a jab in the manner of a plate umpire.

"So you guys actually got lost while finding us?" Mio asked Jun as Ui quickly dusted Ritsu off.

"Yeah, we did. However, North is this way," Jun replied, pointing at the right side of the T intersection, "so this has to be the right way."

"You're probably on the spot."

"I think if we let Jun do this honors here, we should be good," Ui said

"Actually," Ritsu inferred, "why didn't you do the navigating?"

"I just wanted to soak this place a little bit more. It would be easy for me to lead you guys back and if that were the case we would be at the hotel by now, but this was a team-building exercise at work. And I had to check up on Yui and Azunyan."

"Figures."

"According to the map, we turn left here, right?" Ritsu asked the other seven.

"I believe so," Ui inferred.

"And if we follow this street..." Jun added as they walked.

"...We're back to square one," Ritsu said as the crows continued to caw. They were right back where they started. They all went in a circle twice.

"You're not kidding."

Mio was in tears. "Jun...how can the student council president be lost this time?"

"Hint, hint, hint: Call Miss Sawako," Ui whispered to Jun.

"I'll go check the map again," she replied, nodding. She took the longest time.

Ritsu broke the silence with a deadpan tone. "Skull." Mio's frustrations with this trip were at an all-time high. They began to turn to madness. She chuckled. "S..." The chuckles got louder.

"Mio, is there something wrong?" Jun asked.

Mio was laughing like crazy.

"Ritsu," Ui said sheepishly to her headband-donning friend, "what the hell did you do?"

"Nothing, I just said 'Skull'." Soon after, Mio's gesticulations were that of a hysterical level. She was even in tears while laughing. The next time around, the two groups were able to get to the station and take the next train back to the hotel.

* * *

Dinner was on the house once again on their final night at the hotel. This time, the band was treated to portions they could stomach. For some off reason, Ui didn't feel completely full, but she did have a bit of a feeling after taking care of the usual soup, rice and sushi platter served by the staff.

"Timing is indeed everything, and I am relived we got here in time for dinner," Tsumugi said to Ui as she listened to John Sebastian's "Welcome Back."

"Indeed. It feels good to officially be back."

"Is that John Sebastian on your iPod?" Sawako asked.

"Yes it is."

"You must like to play music that fits the mood of whatever is going on."

She nodded. "That's one of the benefits of a product like this."

Sawako turned to the rest of the group. Ritsu had a guilty look on her face because she was the main person responsible for holding the rest of the class up. "And guys, don't give the rest of us any more things to worry about. Especially you, Tainaka."

"Sorry fer troubles, ma'am," Ui replied.

Mio laughed out loud. This trip was all too much for her.

"I got me bowl'er rice in m'hands," Ritsu chimed as Mio continued to laugh. "How y'all been? Mah name's Akiyama, and I play this here bass. S'nice t'meet yer." She knew how to drum out a humorous spin on things just as much as she knew how to work her drum set. "I got me some fans on Facebook, and they all from Mizzourah." The whole of Class 3-2 could hear Mio's lame attempt at restraining her laughter while Ritsu worked on her rice bowl.

"God dammit, Ritsu, you're killing me!" Mio exclaimed through her laughs. "I don't think I will be able to wake up tomorrow!"

Ui summed it all up under a night with a half-moon. "Good ol' Ricchan."

"Hey guys, it's getting a little bit late," Sawako said to two of her students who were purchasing beverages. "You need to head back to her room because we will be getting up early to leave tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am," one of them said after the two purchased their drinks.

"Good night, Miss Sawa-chan," said the other.

"Good night. Wait, Miss Sawa...?" With a sigh, Sawako retired to her quarters. It had been one busy day. It had been one long day. She personally got to see all the spots of her itinerary with the rest of the instructors, but her class got delayed because of Ui's group.

The headmaster, who was with the senior classes on the trip, came over. "Miss Sawako?"

She turned. "Ma'am!"

"That takes quite a load off of us, don't you think? Now we just need to head home."

"Right. But we still have work to do this evening." They did have some work to do, no question. The lesson plan for the following week had to be put in place, and the school year was still young, for all it was worth. Carpe Diem.

* * *

"All right, guys, I'm going to turn off the light," Mio said back at her group's bedroom.

"Day 2: a resounding success," Ui evaluated. "This was a lot of fun."

"We're going to bed earlier tonight this time. No more pillow fighting; we're done with that. Sleep tight, folks."

"Yes, ma'am!" the others said as Mio pulled the string a few times.

As always, Ritsu has other plans. Tonight's menu: horror stories. To do this, she brought a flashlight with to the trip, and she flicked it on with a sadistic grin. "Hey Mio..."

She flailed. "W-W-W-W-What the hell!"

Ritsu grabbed her as she was flailing. "Muhuhuhuhahahaaah! The night is still young, my dear! It's time for some horror stories."

"Stop it! Let me go, you perv!"

"Can we do this some other time?" Ui said, a palm to her forehead.

Of course, Sawako had her own flashlight. "Shut...your...mouths!" she said to the four in her deep, grave tone to resemble that of a banshee.

"See you tomorrow," Ui said, instantly sinking into her dormant state while the others scrambled to regain their sanity.

Sawako turned the lights back on. Of course, Ui could sleep with the lights on, too. "You guys need to take a nap already! We're gonna be going home tomorrow. You can do your horror stories when you get back."

Ritsu looked at her quizzically, "Who the hell are you?"

She responded by wrestling her silly. "Idiot, it's me! It's ME!"

"Oh my god, it's her! It's HER! I'm getting contorted in all shapes and sizes by HER! Ohhhhh the humanity!" Sawako threw Ritsu across the room. "Ouch. I can hear the band play Taps right now."

"Even during the trip, you don't even change. You just can't seem to get off the dangerous path. It's pathetic."

"Fact: Sawa-chan without makeup is ten times scarier," Ritsu pouted.

She stretched her cheeks. "What was that garbage you said? I couldn't hear you! Could you repeat that for me?"

"Uhh ffurrd fuwwfurn wufffurd murffrd erf shs sshas suuure!" ("I said Sawa-chan without makeup is ten times scarier!")

The stretchiness got stronger by the second. Ui was oblivious to the goings-on. "Huuuuuuh? How dare you make fun of my looks, your insubordinate underling!"

"That had to hurt," Mio said as she saw Ritsu bent over in a top-down, bottom-up fashion. She decided to give her cheeks a little pinch. "Raw, too."

"That's enough from me. I want you guys to go to sleep okay? I'm not gonna waste any more energy, or else I can't get what I need to get done out of the way."

"Awww, but Sawa-chan," Ritsu said, "at least chat with us for a bit."

She was spent. "Oh boy. You guys, this is not a sleepover. I'm doing this as your instructor. This whole field trip here? This is a school activity. You know, I'll be fine talking with you if this was a not a school activity, and we'd actually be chatting deep into the morning. But I'm your homeroom teacher, and we have a lot of stuff to get out of the way tomorrow. If I don't do my job, I'm gonna be in trouble, and chances are, I won't be your teacher anymore. You gotta think of it as a give-and-take sort of deal, you guys. You help me, I help you."

"Awww, but just for a bit?" Tsumugi asked. "Ui also brought some Pocky with us."

It was tempting. "Don't try to bribe me!" In the end, she gave in. "Whatever, I got a lot to talk about here." Ui snapped out of her dormant state to hear all.

Sawako loved Pocky. And she loved chatting with it. "Man, if I get reprimanded by the top brass at the school, you guys will be carrying buckets as I pack my belongings and leave. I just realized something when the rest of the other groups got back from the trip earlier today. Ricchan, you must have started some type of crazy-ass revolution, because now they all now call me 'Miss Sawa-chan' instead of 'Miss Sawako.' It's pretty embarrassing. You, my friend," she said, pointing to Ritsu, "have been doing a lot of things that have ticked me* off this trip. You overrubbed one of the cow statues at the shrine we went to yesterday. You threw me into a pillow fight last night. You tried to get a head start on the rest of the other groups with Ui earlier today. A few hours ago, you got lost while disregarding your itinerary, and were lucky that you weren't denied dinner from the staff. Actually, they told me that they've seen this all before with other classes in previous years, and they are nice people. Then you tried to bring up some horror stories just to disrupt the other groups in the other rooms down the hall. And now everyone is calling me 'Miss Sawa-chan'! Dammit, what the hell is wrong with the four of you?"

Ui elbowed a guilty Ritsu. "Hooo boy, now you've really done it this time...Ricchan."

She went on with her angst. "My dignity has hit rock bottom thanks to you! See, my role is to be a modest and kind teacher for my students, but you guys won't let me do my job here. Instead, you all go about, messing around, doing god-knows-what to god-knows-who in god-knows-where at the campus."

"Sorry if we did cause you that much trouble."

"You bet you are! Of all the groups today that I've had to put up with, you four will always be the one I need to always focus. It just...it just drives me nuts. I mean, put yourself in my shoes, okay? Pretend you are me, discussing today's subject, and you see a certain student in a hairband—well, she's got a top-knot for now—showing off and calling you out, saying, 'Hey Miss Sawa-chan! Look at me! I'm important, I'm extra special! Yaaaay!' And now imagine that going on six days a week. Nonstop. End-to-end. You can probably internalize what I'm going through right now. Do you? Tell me."

"I guess I do. It must be hard being a teacher, isn't it?"

"It pays well, but you have to put up with some bad apples, and I'm sitting next to one right now! Listen guys: all I'm asking is that you behave yourselves when we are in the classroom or taking part in any school activity. When you have your club meetings or you guys are off-campus, do whatever. But when we're in class, conduct yourselves accordingly. That's all I ask. It's not much. Can you please, PLEASE do this for me."

"Yes, ma'am!" the four of them said.

"Thank you. My God, those were the words I wanted to hear. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"I think we shouldn't have invited her," Ritsu whispered to Ui.

"But we've been getting attention for all the wrong reasons, and she's being honest, too, so it's important that we heard what she had to say."

"Right, right..."

Eventually, Mio turned off the lights. For Ui, she decided to snap out of her dormant state for a little bit longer to reflect on the trip. "I still can't believe that we are seniors," she thought to herself while staring the ceiling. She noticed that Ritsu was snoring and probably drooling on her pillow as she went along. Mio and Tsumugi were in their dormant state. "Time does fly when you are having fun."

Ui wished that after all five graduated, they would continue to perform together as a band and perhaps play wherever there was a show, and it could be a gateway to Ritsu's ultimate wish. Clearly there would be a record deal on the way, and untold riches abound. But there was also the importance of an education, the importance of a college degree, and that was something she, Mio and Tsumugi emphasized. They wanted to do that first, and this would delay things for a bit. Just for a bit. She kept that in mind as she snapped back into her dormant state.

All of a sudden, the door opened. "Miss Yamanaka!" It was the headmaster again. Apparently a flailing Miss Sawako forgot that she was sleeping in the same room as the others. Big mistake.

Ui snapped out of her dormant state one more time. "Oh crap, we forgot that Sawa-chan was here." And it was back to her dormant state again. Sawako was due to get a talking to, and that was on her. 100 percent.

* * *

Before the five left with the rest of Class 3-2, Mio noticed some charms hanging from the stall of the souvenir shop. "Guys," she asked. "I think we have may have something."

"What is it? What is it?" Ritsu asked.

"Take a look!" It was a series of charms in hiragana. Prominent were the hiragana for the letters "ke", "i", "o", "n" and "bu"

"Would you believe that," Tsumugi said in awe.

"Guys," Ui said triumphantly, "Azunyan's not only gonna get yatsuhashi on the way back. We got just what the Light Music Club ordered."

* * *

As the morning came over the Land of the Rising Sun, the band said farewell to the Kansai and the city Kyoto and took the morning shinkansen back to megalopolis that was Tokyo. Miss Sawako was short on sleep and had to catch up on her rest, drooling incessantly on the headmaster's right shoulder. "You're staining my blouse," the headmaster said.

"Urrrgkkk..."

"A little story to tell you folks as the Hokago Tea Time group (minus Azusa) makes its way back to Sakuragaoka," Ritsu said. "So, I was trying to purchase this one tankoubon that was at a discount at one of the stores near the school. It was one of those shounen manga series that I liked. But when I looked at it, I found out...wait a sec, I already own this book."

"I see," Ui said.

"So I decided, bugger this, I'm gonna give it to Satoshi."

"Good idea."

Ritsu took notice of the reason for her existence. "There's Mount Fuji again!"

"That peak never fails to amaze us." Ui whipped out her iPod and prepared to switch it to the eighth track from AC/DC's second studio album.

"Let me go take a look, too," Mio said. But she ended up dropping a sack of candy.

"You may want to be careful next time."

They all laughed amid the students sleeping around them, and the bullet train continued to make its way across the Kanto plains and Mount Fuji with a vigor unlike any other, as Ui's iPod played "High Voltage."

* * *

**END CHAPTER 4**


	5. Who Made Who

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 5**

**Who Made Who

* * *

**

While Mio Akiyama, Ritsu Tainaka, Tsumugi Kotobuki and Ui Hirasawa were going on their senior trip, Ui's younger sister Yui Hirasawa was left behind. After 10 extra minutes of power napping, Yui woke up, got showered and dressed, and tucked into some toast and strawberry jam while checking her mobile for any updates regarding her beloved older sister. In a rare instance, she actually cleaned up her room on the threat of not earning her customary ice cream upon Ui's return.

Pressing some buttons, the inbox read: "You have no new messages." Yui smiled. That meant Ui had arrived in Kyoto safely, and on time, without any hitches or worries. The radio in the background was playing "Timothy" by the Buoys, a song that Yui nodded her head side to side to. Checking Ui's room, it was apparent that she brought the camera with her on the trip, so there would be plenty of photos on the way. The smile got wider. Yui took a photo of herself flashing a peace sign and sent it to Ui's mobile. "Have a good trip, onee-chan," she said with a giggle. "Looks like it's time for me to take off for class." And with that, she was off.

"Whoa, Mount Fuji," Yui said to Azusa Nakano while in awe from the picture Ui sent her. "Take a look, Azunyan!"

"So you also call me by that name, huh?" Azusa took a look. "Let's see what this reads: 'We're passing by Mount Fuji, the reason behind our existence. I don't know what that's all about, but this is awesome." She sighed. "I wish I was with them on the trip. This sucks, having to be a sophomore and all."

"Don't worry about it. When we go on our trip, we're going to see every place in Kyoto together!"

"Yeah, but I wanted to go with the four of them. I hate being left behind."

"I think onee-chan is having fun. I'm happy for her. So you know what?" Her eyes sparkled. "Let's try this: let's pretend that we are having fun with her in spirit!"

"How is that going to help, Yui?"

"It will. When onee-chan is sending us all these pictures, it's as if we're with her down there."

Azusa sighed again. "Such a drag...Ui-sempai always seems to spoil you every time she gets the chance to do it? Doesn't it make you feel guilty at all?"

"Ehhh? What do you mean guilty? I don't think so. Onee-chan is the best onee-chan I will ever have. Don't say anything bad about her, okay Azunyan?"

"I wasn't saying anything bad, it's just that...oh, never mind." It was obvious that Azusa was jealous of seeing her friends go on the trip while she had to be stuck at class going over the subject of the day. She had to be honest with her. "Here's the thing: Ui-sempai is one of the hardest-working seniors I have had the pleasure of being with—even though she does have a kinky side to her—while you, on the other hand, are bumming around, eating snacks in class without any disregard for all the others here. Don't you think there is something wrong with this picture, Yui?"

She was being close to tears. "Quit being mean, Azunyan!" Yui pressed a few buttons. "I'm gonna call onee-chan right now and-"

Azusa flailed. "Okay, okay, okay, I'm sorry. I don't want you to be a tattle-tale and put my future with the club in jeopardy." Yui was a few presses away from calling Ui's number when she canceled. Azusa place her head on the table, sighing. "Sheesh. Spare me the dramatics, man. But anyway, Ui is really far out there with the kinkiness."

"So she's touching you in those sensitive spots of yours?"

She blushed wildly. "Well...it's not on a frequent basis. It's just that...when she gets the chance, she really does me right and I seem to...enjoy it."

"Whoooooa." Yui stroked her chin. "By the way, she did bring some condoms and vibrators with her to the trip. Maybe she's going to use them for something like that."

"What?" Azusa's head was red as a tomato, and she was blinking incessantly. "You serious? She bought sex toys and condoms for the trip? Dear God! I knew she was kinky for a sempai, but this is going off the deep end!"

Yui looked to the sky wistfully. "Onee-chan is like that sometimes."

"And how the heck do you tolerate someone dirty like that? You should get an Order of the Rising Sun medal for having to put up with her off-the-charts libido." Somewhere in the back of her mind, though, Azusa thought it was awesome.

"I see. So you prefer Onee-chan to be a bit more strict and less sex-driven in what she does?"

Azusa nodded. "Of course."

"Ahhh. I think I will have to remind myself to tell her that."

"Yeah, because if she is strict...I can imagine this: she refers to me by my last name amidst thick eyebrows and tells me that I am not together with the rest of the band who are also wearing thick eyebrows, and I apologize as she massages my shoulders to get me going for practice." Azusa grinned. "Heheh. Yeah, that's gonna get the job done."

"But doesn't that mean that she's going to have to do her dominatrix act on you?"

Azusa blushed again with steam coming out of her tomato-colored head. "D-dominatrix? Are you talking about BDSM this time? Don't tell me she's into that too!"

"Well, Azunyan, she's never told me she is into that, but she did say that softcore is her biggest weakness."

Azusa was digging her nails deep into her scalp. "Gaaaah! This has turned into a discussion about porn, just like that!"

Nodoka Manabe came over to fall in with the two of them. "Hey you guys, what are you looking at?"

"Ah, Nodoka-chan!" said Yui in her customary greeting. "Well, actually...there's this message from Onee-chan. Wanna take a look?"

"Let's see." She took a look. "Hey, there's Mount Fuji.'The reason behind our existence,' huh?" Nodoka chuckled. "Your sister's funny."

"That's how she is," Yui said, beaming.

"I also got a message from my sempai as well," she said, whipping out her mobile.

Yui read it. "The message says, 'Take care of our freshmen.'" She saluted the phone. "Yes ma'am! Roger that!"

"Talk about reliability," Azusa added. Her cell phone began to vibrate. "Now what could this be? It's from Ui-sempai." She opened the message. Ritsu was pinching Mio's cheeks on the train as Mugi turned her hands into mustaches. "Oh boy. Darn it, Ritsu-sempai! I swear. And this says, 'Please feed Ton-chan.' Well, it looks like we know what to do first. But this is such a drag," she said, hanging her head in shame.

Nodoka went forward with her deductions. "So what I'm getting here is that this light music club, aside from its activities, owns a pet in the room. Who's Ton-chan, by the way?"

"That's our pet turtle."

"A pet turtle. Ahhh."

Yui's ears perked. "What? Onee-chan bought a pet turtle?"

Azusa explained. "Ui-sempai and the others bought it as her way to keep me in the club. It wasn't what I wanted, but I've learned to accept him as my kouhai."

"I see. So Ton-chan is your kouhai, huh? Interesting. Should we go upstairs and feed him?"

"Let's do it, let's do it! I want to feed Ton-chan!" Yui squealed.

Azusa gave up on whatever reservations she had. It couldn't be helped. "Fine, whatever. Let's feed him."

Azusa, Yui and Nodoka headed up the stairs to the music room. "This is Ton-chan," Azusa said, showing the others the soft-shelled turtle that smiled upon their arrival.

"C...cute..." Yui was mesmerized. "I didn't know you had a turtle like this. It's so cute..."

Nodoka brought out the food. "So we feed the turtle by giving him pellets?"

"Yep. Mugi-sempai owns a few turtles at home, and this is type of feed she uses. Ton-chan apparently likes them," Azusa said as the reptile eagerly munched on the snacks.

"I'm glad."

"Eheheheheh...you're so cute..." Yui was stuck fawning over the turtle through all the giggling. "Ton-chan, Ton-chan, Ton-chan..."

"I think those two are inseparable," Nodoka said to Azusa. "What do you think?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Pretty much."

The afternoon came calling over the Sakuragaoka High School Girls' Campus like a fleet of Harley Davidsons cruising down Japan National Route 1 streaking across the Kanto plains. 12:50 p.m. Japan Standard Time meant that the lunch bell rang for the midday repast.

Nodoka took notice of a 36-inch long john donut. "So this is the Golden Chocolate Roll my friends were talking about."

Yui took notice of the pastry as well. "Wonderful, isn't it, Nodoka-chan?"

"I'm a second-year student, but this is the first time I've seen it in person. Ma'am," she said to the cashier as she broke out her wallet, "I will go ahead buy this."

"They bake stuff like this?" Azusa asked. "Amazing."

"Generally, they sell three of this a day, and the seniors are the ones who grab them. I got the last one in the batch. It's an accomplishment I will put in my anecdotes."

"Nodoka-chan, do you want me to take a photo of you with it?"

"Go for it, Yui!" Azusa smiled. She took a photo of her posing with it as if it were a cane, her right hand adjusting her glasses. Yui proceeded to take a shot and send it to her best friend and the others.

"That looks so OL right there," Yui said.

"Office lady?" Azusa asked.

"Yep!"

She proceeded to place a palm to her forehead. "Oh dear..."

Immediately after she took the shot, Yui's phone vibrated. "Let's see what this is from onee-chan."

"This better not be one of her crazy scenes just to make us laugh." She peered over for a look.

"Ooooh!"

"What is it, what is it?"

"We got another thing to do. Onee-chan left her lunch box in the classroom, so we have to bring it home for her."

"So she is forgetful at times, too."

"But not as forgetful as Yui," Nodoka added.

"Ehhh? Nodoka-chan, that's mean!" Yui pouted.

"We still love you, though."

The three of them went up the stairs to Class 3-2 to find Ui's stray lunch box. Naturally, the lights were out on the third floor because the seniors were away on their trip. "This must be Class 3-2," Yui said, opening the door. "Excuse our intrusion." The whole place was empty.

"So quiet," Nodoka commented.

"You think we're really allowed to go in?" Azusa asked.

"Don't worry, don't worry," Yui said as they went inside the room. "If the door is locked, then we can't. But if it's open, we can just get what we need without any problem."

"I hope you're right, Yui."

"We're just getting something onee-chan forgot, so it shouldn't be a big deal."

The three of them went deeper into the room. "I believe Ui-sempai's seat is somewhere in the back."

"Ah, this must be hers," Nodoka said, grabbing a pink-colored sack and handing it to Yui. "Yep, she forgot it. By the way, where does Mio-sempai sit?"

"I think she sits next to Ui-sempai," Azusa prognosticated, pointing to the desk to the right of Ui's.

Nodoka took a seat, closed her eyes and pictured where she would be one year from now. "It feels as if I'm a senior already," she said, exhaling deeply.

"It's just you, Nodoka," Azusa replied, her hands behind her back. They all laughed. This was their destiny in less than 12 months, after all. In all honesty, it was worth the trouble.

Nodoka noticed a piece of paper sticking out from inside the desk. "'Pull this?' Hmmmm. Can't see why I can't. Here goes nothing."

"Whoa, don't, Nodoka!" Azusa warned.

Too late. She gave it a tug. "The hell? This is just some drawing."

"That's from Ritsu-sempai. She likes to scare Mio with these things. You're not scared at all?"

"I just think this is something that wouldn't make the likes of pixiv or any imageboard, for that matter."

Azusa couldn't believe it. "Get outta here! You actually have accounts on those sites, Nodoka?"

She nodded. "Pretty much, but I don't upload any art."

"Ahhh."

"Oh, by the way...where's Yui?"

It didn't take long for the twintailed one to flag her down. "There she is."

Yui rested her head on her hands in Ui's desk, humming and giggling along. "I'm in Onee-chan's desk. Hee hee, it's like a dream come true~~~! So beautiful outside."

"She's daydreaming again," Nodoka said to Azusa.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Wherever she goes, it's one of her favorite pastimes. Spacing out and all. She's done nothing but space out her entire life. Hey Yui, you think you're gonna be lonely without your sister around?"

"Ehhh, I don't think so," she replied.

"Ui won't be coming back for a couple more days," Nodoka added.

"Ahhhh. Oh yeah, Nodoka-chan, you're right, I forgot that Onee-chan won't be back tonight," Yui said in a deadpan tone.

"Oh my fucking God, don't tell me that you just realized that now?" Azusa exclaimed.

"I just did?"

"Dammit, dammit, dammit! Nodoka, how the hell do you put up with someone like this?"

"I just do," she replied. Azusa was scratching her scalp, furiously wondering how her two friends coexist as BFFs 24/7/365.

"Azunyan, how am I going to get my ice cream?" Yui pleaded while on the verge of tears. "Onee-chan is the only one who can buy me the cartons! And I don't want to be alone...I don't want to...!"

"Now calm down, calm down, calm down," Nodoka said. "We'll buy you some on the way home."

"I'm sorry about my outburst," Azusa said, flailing. "It was the heat of the moment! The heat of the moment, I say!"

"And we'll visit you tonight and stay the night to keep you company so that you don't feel lonely."

Yui's mood changed. "You'll do all of that for me?" They both nodded, and were immediately glomped. "Azunyan, Nodoka-chan, I love you both! I could just die in this school if you said no! My heart...it's about to burst!"

"You thought we were really going to let you down?" Nodoka asked.

"I'm glad," Azusa said. Somehow she got caught up in Yui's scent, which evoked of strawberries and cream. A huge blush crept across her face. Could she be having feelings for both Hirasawa sisters? Who knew that one embrace would leave such an indelible impression on the way she thought of Yui? She was helpless in a way, and she really needed company.

The three of them decided to temporarily help out with the business at Jun's stomping grounds, the Jazz Club. It was a no-brainer to begin with, giving the jazz roots of Azusa session musician parents.

"Whoa, so this is Jun-sempai's club, huh?" Azusa said to Yui.

"Amazing," she replied. "I like the instruments they have here. I never knew they had all this."

"Impressive, isn't it?" Nodoka asked. "Jun-sempai showed me this as well after they adjourned in a meeting earlier this year. It's pretty cool."

"You're not kidding, Nodoka," Azusa said, still mesmerized.

"Jun told me that the Sakuragaoka Jazz Club has as many instruments in stock as the Sakuragaoka Wind Ensemble. I don't know if this is part of their inventory or all of it, but this in itself is a lot."

"So there's 50 or so members in this club?"

"Pretty much. Jun-sempai told me they perform recitals in the auditorium and attend, as part of their credit hours, symposiums and workshops with leading musicians from across the country and overseas."

"That's called being busy right there."

"A whole lot of hard work."

"That's unreal!" Yui exclaimed. "How do they have this many and still have time for all the other stuff?"

"Well Jun-sempai also told me that it's all about survival of the fittest. You have to sacrifice a lot of your time and put a lot of your energy to be successful with the Jazz Club. She practices a lot when the others in her class are gone and when her work with the Student Government is finished for the day. So she puts on a lot of hats and invests a lot of time...and all that jazz!"

"I knew you were going to add that thing at the end, Nodoka-chan," Yui said, laughing.

"You know me well."

"And all that jazz!" they both said, pointing at each other through chuckles.

"Hold on, I'll be right back, I have to go get something." She took off to purchase something to drink from the vending machines.

"Nodoka's always like that, huh?" Azusa asked Yui. "Going around, up and down campus...is she also a part of Student Government, too?"

"Well," Yui explained, "Nodoka-chan told me that she wants to run for student council president next year. She wants to represent this school to the best of her ability."

"That's great. She works her butt off, unlike you."

"Azunyan, don't make me cry again..."

"Sorry, sorry." Two freshmen walked in the room, to Azusa's surprise. "Oh! Uh...hello?"

"Sorry for our intrusion," Yui said, embracing Azusa. "We're friends of Jun-sempai, even though she's on her senior trip right now."

"Oh, no problem," said one of the students who walked in. They noticed that Azusa was with Yui. "Wait a minute, are you Azusa-sempai!"

"Yes," she replied. "Yes, I am."

"Whoa."

"Jun-sempai told us that there is a guitarist in the Light Music Club that knows how to rock it, and that we should learn from her," the other said.

"She did, did she?" Azusa looked at Yui with embarrassment all over her face.

"Holy cow Azunyan, I didn't know you were famous with all the freshmen!" Yui exclaimed. "You got some fans at this school! Hey," she whispered to Azusa, "do you know how to sign an autograph yet?"

"What makes you think I'm gonna go that far right now?"

"I was only aski~~~~ng!" Yui lollygagged around the room in a singsong voice. "Azunyan is famous; Azunyan is famous, hooray, hurrah, huzzah!"

"Come on, Yui..."

Nodoka walked in with her bottle of Gatorade. "Ah, this must be some of the members of the Jazz Club. Hello there."

"You must be another of Jun-sempai's friends," said one of the freshmen.

"Morning," both of them said.

"Good morning," Nodoka replied. "Actually, good afternoon. These are some of the freshmen in the club," she explained to Yui and Azusa. "Azusa, is it possible for you to give them some pointers on playing the guitar?"

At first, she was hesitant to do so. But she remembered what Nodoka's sempai reminded her to do: take care of the freshmen. "All right, let's help you out. Do you have some paper to take notes with?"

"Yes, Azusa-sempai!" they both said.

"Good. Now, the first thing to keep in mind is that you need to have proper fingering when playing your chords. Knowing where your index, middle, ring and pinkie need to be on the fret board when playing the chord is not enough. Having proper, consistent form when playing your chords and ad libs is critical to your success, When you have the mechanics down naturally, you have a foundation from which to hone your skills..."

Azusa took the time to demonstrate the essentials and even showed a few of her trademark licks. The scouting report Jun did on Azusa was right on the money, and there was a reason why Azusa Nakano had her share of fans. She wasn't too dang shabby on her Fender Mustang, either.

It was a few minutes to 5:00 p.m. in Japan. By this point, the other four had checked in with the rest of the class at the hotel down in Kyoto.

Azusa went through drills with her juniors. "1, 2, 3, 4...1, 2, 3, 4..."

"Ah!" One of the students got her pick tangled up in the strings.

"I will have to say that this part is a bit of challenge if you don't have the mechanics down."

"You're not kidding. I got tangled up on that one."

"I can't even play that part," the other freshman said, disappointed.

"I got an idea, and this is something I do anyway before practice upstairs," Azusa replied. "I like doing finger stretches to improve my dexterity. This is how you do it: you hold out your fret hand with the fingers closed and the palm extended outward. Then you spread your index and middle fingers like this, followed by your ring, and then your pinkie." Her left hand formed a set of V's as she stretched her fingers. "1, 2, 3, 4...1, 2, 3, 4..."

Naturally, the freshmen were having a tough go at it as well, and so was Nodoka, from cramping. Yui, however, could do it with relative.

"Yui," Nodoka asked, "how are you able to do this without straining your left hand and arm?"

"Onee-chan showed me how to do this as well," she replied.

The freshmen were stunned while Azusa smile. "I figured she did," Nodoka said.

"I think I could do this all day."

"You know what? You probably would."

Azusa turned to her juniors. "I recommend you do this while you take a bath, or before you practice with the club. I think you will be able to get this down pat without any problems soon enough."

"Yes, Azusa-sempai!" they both said, nodding.

Nodoka felt her hand start to cramp, and grimaced. "Is something wrong, Nodoka-chan?" Yui asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Oh my God...wh-wh-what do I do now? Now I can't even move my fingers!" she replied. The others were stunned as Nodoka felt her hand suffer from overwork. But she was able to recover immediately. "Vulcan Salute!"

"Good ol' Nodoka-chan," Yui said, smiling while returning the salute back. Azusa and the two freshmen stood there, wondering about the fast one Yui's best friend pulled on the three of them.

"That was a great lesson, Azusa-sempai," said one of the freshmen as they were about to leave.

"I can't believe I wrote so many notes," the other said.

"Isn't that wonderful?" Yui said to Azusa. "You should really go into teaching."

"I don't know. I still want to do recording and touring, that type of stuff, before I settle down. Hey," she said to the two freshmen heading off, "you guys take care, all right?"

"Got it! Thanks a lot!" they both said.

"Nodoka-chan, Azunyan, you guys ready to go to my house?" Yui asked.

"I'm ready," Nodoka said.

"Let's do it," Azusa added.

* * *

A first-quarter moon walked over the evening heavens as Nodoka and Azusa made the walk to the Hirasawa house. Yui was listening to "Happy Together" by the Turtles, dancing merrily as she went ahead of the other two.

"Does she really like to dance and dawdle around like this every time?" Azusa asked Nodoka on her cell phone. Both of them were talking to each other via their mobile. Azusa would arrive later in the night.

"If she doesn't keep herself occupied," she explained, "then all she will do is bum around. This is one way for her to put her energy to use."

"Got it." The house was in sight. "I can't believe that you had to stop by the FamilyMart to buy six cartons for Yui."

"You know that even with all the ice cream she consumes, she maintains her body weight regardless, right?"

"I thought it was just Ui-sempai."

"No, every member of her family has that trait. It's a type of metabolism you rarely see, if ever. Talk to you in a bit." As she hung up, Nodoka rang the doorbell. "Evening"

"Hey there you are!" Yui said after opening the door. "Let me go grab some slippers for you-ah!" She tripped over, her tush flashing in front of Nodoka, who wore an exasperated look. She knew that Yui was a klutz by nature, but did she have to make it that obvious? Nodoka didn't think so. But it couldn't be helped. Eventually, Yui got the slippers for her to use. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Nodoka said, putting them on. "Are you okay?"

"Tis but a flesh wound!" Yui said in a deep voice.

"Quit it with the Monty Python references, will you?" She was fine.

"Sorry...I was watching that 'Holy Grail' movie."

"I figured you did. I bought you some ice cream."

"Oooooh! What flavors are they? Let's see here..." She gleefully scanned the contents. "Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Rocky Road, Chocolate Chip, and Bubble Gum! Holy cow, you know my favorite flavors by heart! As expected of Nodoka-chan!"

"I knew that there are other flavors you like, but this is all I could afford without drying up my wallet. I'll leave it to your older sister to buy some more. I also got a message from you sister reminding you to eat it after you finish your meal. By the way, what's for dinner?"

"Oh, some of our neighbors decided to deliver some food for us." Apparently, Mrs. Hirasawa notified them that Ui was going to be gone for a few days, and she was also going to be gone, and so the neighbors got together to bring some food for Yui because they understood that she was nowhere close to being a good cook. They brought the usual suspects: tempura, cutlets, salad, tofu, sushi, and various homemade bento and garnishes. Plus, on recommendation from Jun's parents, a Super All-Star Pack of donuts fresh from a bakery that she liked to frequent was brought to the combine.

"That's real nice of them, Yui. There's a lot of food here, too. How long are they going to do this?"

"Until onee-chan gets back. Mom told me that they are going to make some more tomorrow."

"How generous..." Nodoka didn't know whether to feel happy for Yui, knowing that she wouldn't starve, or feel bad for the neighbors, who had to sacrifice their resources to help her survive. She pondered that for the longest time.

"There's vegetables, steak, tofu, cabbage salad and cutlets, and we also have some chirashizushi, fried chicken and pizza on the way."

"That's great and all, but this is a sleepover, not a viewing party for Monday Night Football in America!"

"Well, that's what they gave us. I think it's awesome." The door rang. "And speaking of awesome, that must be the always-awesome Azunyan." Yui opened the door. "Hey there, Azunyan!"

"Hello."

"Come on in."

"My mom brought you some snacks. Here." She gave a Yui a bag that was heaping with the good stuff.

"Wow. I don't think I'm gonna go hungry tonight, you guys."

"What's in that bag?" Nodoka asked.

"Pocky, soda, candy, and some small cakes from the bake shop owned by Mugi-sempai."

"Oh boy, we better keep an eye on Yui here. If she gets on a sugar rush tonight, we may not be able to get some sleep tomorrow."

"You're always thinking of the worst-case scenarios, aren't you?" she deadpanned.

"Gotta."

"Oh man, that was one heck of a meal," Azusa said, relaxing in the living room. "I think I'm going to have to walk tomorrow to burn it all off."

"I think I ate a little bit too much," Nodoka said, her back to the floor while stretching her arms out.

"No more bites for me, I think I've reached my limit. We'll have to save Jun-sempai's donuts for tomorrow morning." Azusa noticed something unusual. Nodoka had nibbled on every one of the remaining pastries in the box. "On second thought, you're gonna have to eat them all tomorrow morning. Why the hell did you eat them like that?"

"I wanted a little taste, that's all." Azusa sighed. "You can have the rest when the morning comes."

"I said that YOU are gonna have to do that. I don't want your germs."

"Awwwww."

"You know something, my dear?" Her tone changed to one of sheer naughtiness. "Sweets go to different area of your body. And the chocolate one is really good. It's heaven."

"Even though, you already touched every one of them, so even if I wanted to, I can't. I'm gonna get sick." Azusa had to swallow her pride though, because in the back of her head, she wanted one. Even if it had Nodoka's germs on it. "Whatever. My words be damned!"

"Ah, Azunyan's getting one of the donuts," Yui said, walking back in to the living room after disposing the take-out containers. Azusa took one with the chocolate frosting. "Oooh. It's sweet...this is actually quite good."

Yui's cell phone began to vibrate. "It's onee-chan again. Let's see what she has to say." She checked her message.

"I want to take a look," Azusa said. They both laughed as Tsumugi landed a direct hit on Ritsu during their pillow fight. Of course, soon after, Mugi got her comeuppance. A good shot. "That looks like a typical night for a school trip."

"Man, I wanted to be a part of this one! I can't believe I'm still stuck here. I soooo want to be there!"

"I'm sure we all do.'Are you enjoying your sleepover?'"

"I'll text back. 'We are, onee-chan!' There we go." Yui turned and saw Nodoka in a suggestive top-down-bottom-up pose. "Nodoka-chan?" The radio was on, and Gnarls Barkley's "Going On" was playing in the background.

"Yui..." Nodoka rolled over and soon after found herself lying on top of Azusa.

"Ahhh, Nodoka, are you crazy?" Azusa exclaimed.

Yui's eyes began to spiral. "Real life...yuri..." She passed out, her nose bleeding as she smiled.

"Nodoka, what are you-oof!" She was being madly kissed by Nodoka in an unusually lustful embrace. This was an unusual move from her, but Azusa, in a shocking change of emotion, didn't mind it one bit, exchanging the shared love with her hands weaving their way around her body. Azusa began to heave rapidly as she could feel a dampness gather on her shorts in spite of her semi-unwilling state. Perhaps the donuts were spiked with some Love Potion No. 9-esque chemical that caused the whole box to be an edible aphrodisiac delight. But as their tongues tangoed and the moans and heaves became more pronounced, Azusa was wondering why it was now Nodoka that wanted to hit on her so bad. She already had someone to love in Ui, but Yui making her move discreetly, and now Nodoka was—albeit at the spur of the moment—following suit. Was she becoming that popular? Was she becoming that much of a toy? Or was it just her virgin mind making her so insecure and uneasy? One thing was for sure: the waves of conflicting emotions never felt so transcending.

"Man, I can't believe I lost my mind for a bit," Yui said, still in a daze and Nodoka and Azusa unpacked. They decided to rest in Ui's bedroom, as per Ui's request to Azusa, much to Yui's disappointment. "I feel dizzy. Hey Azunyan, do you like girls?"

Azusa blinked. That was a straight-arrow question. "Well...not THAT way..."

"But you and Nodoka-chan were kissing and touching each other here and there! Azunyan, you are so bold! I never knew you has lesbian tendencies."

"Sh-shut up! You're contaminating my purity as it is!"

"But isn't it already contaminated?"

"Ahhhhh, mou!"

"So, what are you two up to?" Nodoka said, decked out in her pajamas.

"Oh, Nodoka-chan, we were talking about-"

Azusa was flailing again. "No, don't say it, don't say it!"

"I see, you were talking about that." The kiss and embrace, of course. "I just wanted to try it out."

"Try it...out? You mean experimentation?" Azusa had a look of bewilderment and felt as if she had been tricked into a fling.

"I think the taste and scent of a girl being kissed by a girl is fresher than if it was a girl and a boy kissing each other. It just seems different, but in a positive way. I will make note of that down the road."

Azusa wailed in her own misery. "Awww, dammit!" She'd been had. Soon after, Nodoka put her frames away and call it a night. "Good night, Yui."

"Good night, Nodoka-chan," Yui said, grinning.

"She's asleep already, huh?" Azusa asked, her hair down.

"Mmm-hmmm."

"And you decided to lend her the bed, huh?"

"Yeah, cause she's special."

"She is, is she?"

"Me and Nodoka-chan have been best friends since we were in kindergarten. I remember one time I brought buckets and buckets of crayfish because I thought were going to cook them all in a bath. Nodoka-chan freaked out when she saw it."

A sweatdrop came down her head. "That's not something to hang your hat on, Yui."

"But Nodoka-chan always wants me to do something instead of doing nothing."

"Isn't that obvious? Your older sister always tells us that you are the lazy one and stuff, and that you need to get out more."

"Can I join your club next year?"

"If we can get enough members after Mio-sempai, Ritsu-sempai, Ui-sempai and Mugi-sempai graduate, sure."

Yui crossed her fingers. "Let's keep our fingers crossed." She yawned. "Azunyan, I'm getting a bit sleepy."

"we can go to bed if you want, but I'm not feeling sleepy yet."

"Maybe a little sweet pillow talk will do." Yui turned off the lights.

"Pillow...talk?" Azusa's heart began to quicken. Her pulse accelerated. As the two of them lay together, next to each other, Yui elected to embrace her as they talked.

"Azunyan...you're so cute..." Yui said to her amidst her giggles.

"Th...thanks. I think the four of them must be having a heck of time down in Kyoto."

"I think they're asleep by now," Yui said as Azusa's head got stuck between her bosom.

"So nice..." She took a whiff and went on. "But I doubt they're asleep yet. See, during training camp, we always like to stay up late and we don't get a lot of rest. So I always think of this situation: I ask them for a souvenir from them, and they'll forget because they were having too much fun down there, and I'll be so bummed that I won't want to have tea."

"Don't worry, Azunyan, they will have some stuff for you." Azusa sighed. "Hey Azunyan, why is your head stuck between my boobs? I mean, I don't have any problem with it, but it just feels unreal...and nice..."

Azusa tried to back away, but the embrace just got stronger. "I just like the feeling, that's all. I get cold at times."

"It just makes me want to be with you more."

"Is...that so?" Azusa sighed again as she nestled deeper into Yui's bosom. "It really feels warm."

Yui smiled. "Azunyan..." She began to understand why her older sister, Mio, Tsumugi and especially Ritsu like to play around with her. If she was a pet, Azusa would make for a nice house cat.

"I wish all of us could be together at the field trip. I like seeing temples and shrines and all that stuff, too."

"Onee-chan always told me that good things come to those who wait." Azusa's eyes lowered. If it were that easy for her to do, oh glory hallelujah! She felt like a cat left to lounge around in a house with no one to play with. She was depressed. Yui and Nodoka keeping her company was a passable alternative, but she really wanted to be with her friends, who were napping and snorting soundly in the middle of the Kansai. Yui looked at her sympathetically and saw the tears flowing from Azusa's face. "I got an idea. How about we go somewhere tomorrow? Do you have anything in mind?"

"I want to visit the zoo down in Ueno Park," Azusa said, her eyes lowered more. "I've never been to the place."

"Oh, I know what you're talking about! I went with Onee-chan to the Ueno Zoo when I was in grade school. I like seeing the pandas there! All right Azunyan, we are going to the Ueno Zoo tomorrow."

Her ears perked. "Really?"

"Yeah! Just for you!"

"I hope Nodoka likes the zoo as well."

"Nodoka-chan will. Besides, I think she's seen it, too." Azusa smiled. One of her childhood dreams was about to be realized.

Yui's cell phone vibrated. "Oh, it's Ricchan-sempai. Let's see what this is." They both took a look. "'I found a skull.'"

"The hell?" Yui was laughing hysterically.

"That is so fucking funny, man!"

Nodoka stirred for a bit. "What are you two doing?" She took a look at the message, then went back to sleep. Yui had to cough for a little bit after laughing her head off for ten minutes nonstop.

"Azunyan?" Yui asked.

"What?"

"Can I hold you?" She nodded. Anything to keep Ui's clumsy younger sister happy. Yui could not help but giggle bit before the two of them fell into a deep sleep. "Oh Azunyan, I could never let you go." And Azusa was too busy doing business with the Sandman to even respond to what Yui was saying.

* * *

Thus the morning came soon enough over the metropolis, with the birds singing overhead, the avian denizens conversing on matters regarding the business of the city. They were singing in the rain. A storm system ran its course across the Kanto plains, putting an irreparable hamper to their visit to the Ueno Zoo, which would be closed anyway to due forthcoming renovations to the facility. Contingency and Plan B were a must.

"...why can't they be bigger..." Azusa slowly stirred to the sound of the pouring rain. She didn't realize it until she opened her eyes, but not only was her head still stuck between Yui's bust...she was cupping it, too. There was a sense of envy that came from being the member of the light music club with the flattest chest, a natural jealousy that only she understood and learned to accept. When she awoke, Azusa realized that Yui was still fast asleep and Nodoka had gotten out of bed to wash up. This was becoming embarrassing. It was easy for her to get out of Yui's grasp, though. Yui was still hugging something, but it was her pillow as Azusa washed up. She still didn't understand the feeling that came from sleeping with Ui's younger sister. It felt so wrong, but it felt so right. If it was her and Ui, they would be wearing next to nothing because of all the possible foreplay scenarios. At least, that's what Azusa imagined. When it was her and Ui, the feeling seemed to be one of mutual love. When it was her and Yui, it was as if she was just a human plush. She knew what love triangles were, and how it could trap someone stuck in the middle of it all. Was it that strong? Was it that deep? Was it that...surreal?

Azusa opened the blinds to see the weather. Bleak. "Shit, it's raining," she said. "I can't even go to the fucking zoo today." It was pouring outside in sheets of meshed hydrogen and oxygen, heaven's tears crying for a shadow.

"So you like to groom your hair, huh?" Azusa asked Nodoka, who had her spectacles on.

"I always like to keep it shiny, even though it's short. I don't like to grow it long, like you do."

"Azunyan, you look wonderful with your hair down instead of having it in twintails," Yui said, disposing the empty toothpaste tube and replacing it with a full one already in stock before giving her choppers a scrub.

Nodoka agreed. "So black and shiny..."

"People at my old school keep telling me that I look like a traditional Japanese doll when my hair is down. It's embarrassing. That's why I hold them back as twintails."

"There's a lot of famous people who wear twintails. There's Miku Hatsune, Kagami Hiiragi, Usagi Tsukino...the list goes on and on and on."

"How do you know all this?"

"Before our student council meetings, one of the officers talks about different concepts of anime characters and their hairstyles. She likes the twintails hairdo more than any other style—like a single ponytail or a hime cut—and can rattle off 50 famous people that wear them. Azusa, I think you've done yourself a favor by having a good taste for hairstyles."

"Ooookay..." Yui smiled at Azusa, who exchanged an embarrassed look and a chuckle.

"Now, if you were to ask me what my least favorite hairstyle is, the forehead-exposing variety just isn't my type—"

Azusa flailed again. "Okay, okay, okay, we get it, we get it! No more hair debates. It's getting a bit out of hand!" If Ritsu were to hear this, she would be in tears.

"All right," Nodoka replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"So, what are we going to do now, you guys?" Azusa asked the others with a sigh, crouching on the sofa, visibly melancholic as she hugged a pillow while watching the rain continue to pour down like a mandolin. Yui was munching on some chips and flipping through some random channels before settling on MTV Asia. Promise. Kohmi Hirose. Get Down. Nodoka was reading a random love story from Ui's stash of books, taking note of various plot devices and progressions and seeing if there was a pattern going on. Truth be told, one of the classes she was taking at Sakuragaoka involved a study of a novel's storyline and makeup, and it turned out to be serendipity to find the book from Ui's shelves as a reference. Nodoka wasn't a fan of Danielle Steel, but it was starting to quickly grow on her. Azusa sighed again. "Any ideas? Tch, it's cats and dogs outside."

On the table was some tea that she prepared, because Yui naturally had a difficult time doing the simplest of things like making refreshments for guests. And of course, the neighbors did brace the weather to bring some more food for the three of them. "Too busy watching MTV," Yui replied sheepishly. "Poor Azunyan. I guess we won't be going to Ueno Zoo today."

Azusa slumped over on her side, her boredom and disappointment magnified exponentially. "And I wanted to go...why did you have to be some cruel, Mother Nature?"

"As King Solomon would put it, 'This too shall pass,'" Nodoka said, still taking notes on the substance behind her Steel's recent novel "Legacy." "I didn't know that Ui-sempai is into love stories. This is pretty good stuff."

"Nodoka, did you want to do something other than taking notes on a novel?"

"Hmmmm..." She was deep into thought.

"Or head anywhere?"

"Hmmmm..."

"I'd be fine if we played a game or something like that."

"Hmmmm."

"Azunyan, she is deep into her thoughts," Yui said, rolling around on the floor. "That's how she is. It's mysterious." As if on cue, Azusa sighed again as Yui stopped rolling around and drank some green tea.

"Could you believe that your older sister has a wall of novels and manga?" Nodoka asked Yui. "I am amazed that she can pack it all, yet still have space for her other stuff."

"Onee-chan always scolds me for not putting them away after I'm done reading them," Yui replied. "She likes seinen and joshi manga as a preference."

"Get outta here! Ui-sempai has a wall of them?" Azusa asked in a state of shock. Yui nodded. "Goddamn..."

"Actually, I'm the one that has more of the manga. Ui's into the novels. Yeah, that's about it."

Azusa shook her head as they went to Ui's room to check out her bookshelf. "Dang...there's a lot here!"

"Um, what is this?" Nodoka was holding a plush lemon from Yui's bedroom.

"Hey, that's mine!" Yui said, grabbing it from her.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Azusa said in her personal recollection, "Ui-sempai brought a lot of stuff for you from spring cleaning."

"Yep! Doesn't this lemon look cute? It's so squeezable. 'Won't you squeeze my lemon till the juice runs down my leg...'"

"No Led Zeppelin, please." Yui pouted. "Wait a minute, did you clean up your room, yet?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Ui-sempai's been telling me that you haven't been cleaning up your room."

"Uh oh..."

"What the? You mean to tell me you haven't been cleaning up your room since we've been here?"

"I think I must have been sleepwalking in between rooms before I squeezed you back in onee-chan's bedroom."

"What? Are you serious? We need to go check your room right now!"

"Huh? What's going on?" Nodoka asked. "Something the matter?"

Yui laughed hesitantly as they saw a literal mess of toys, books, and other junk lying about here and there. It looked completely unsanitary. "How the fuck can you live in a pigsty like this?" Azusa asked furiously to Yui.

"Ehhhh?"

"Come on, we are cleaning up this room right now! If you won't help us clean up your room, I am going to make sure you are in a heap of trouble from Ui-sempai!"

"Waaaaaah! No way!" Yui wailed. It had to be done.

Nodoka adjusted her spectacles and sighed. "Such a pity, Yui."

Back at Ui's room, Nodoka took notice of a guitar lying on its stand. "So this is the almighty Gitah, huh? Looks beautiful."

"I didn't get a chance to look at the love stories onee-chan owned," Yui said, "but there's a lot of stuff. 'A Perfect Stranger,' 'Wanderlust', 'The Long Road Home', 'A Good Woman'...onee-chan has it all."

Nodoka put 'Secrets' away. "I think I have what I need for a paper on the dynamics of a romance novel."

"You were doing this all for a paper?" Azusa asked her.

"Yep. One of the major topics in class is the composition of romance novels, and how they are constructed. What Ui-sempai has here in this room helped a lot. Can we go to a bookstore? I want to buy some of Danielle Steel's novels!"

She frowned. "But it's still raining outside."

Nodoka found it difficult to hide the pained look on her face. "Hmmmm, that's too bad. I really want to do well on this paper..." It took her time to wonder what to do next. Easy enough: slump on Ui's freshly-laundered bed. "Well now I'm bored."

"Ehhh, that's onee-chan's bed you're on; she might get mad at me, Nodoka-chan!" Yui said, flailing.

"That's why I was telling you that we should do something other than look at romance novels," Azusa reiterated. Azusa's cell phone vibrated once more, and they all noticed it. "Ah, it's Ui-sempai. Let's see what she has this time."

"Onee-chan? Let me take a look."

"'What are you guys up to?'" Ui and the others were high on the hilltop at Iwatayama, where the macaques were romping around.

"Oh my god! I want to be there, onee-chan!" Yui squealed. "Monkeys here, monkeys there, monkeys everywhere! Sooo jealous!"

Azusa was wondering why it was clear down in Kyoto, but rainy as hell up in Tokyo. She was envious, but it was for a different reason. That was the last straw. "That's it, I don't care; come rain or come shine, we are going somewhere today!"

"You know," Nodoka said, getting back up, "I've always wanted to check out some of the batting cages to work on my swing."

"You like playing softball, Nodoka?"

"Actually, my cousins have season tickets for the Giants and their love for baseball grew on me. So how about we go to a batting cage to work on our swing?"

"I guess that would work...what do you think, Yui?"

"I've never been to a place like that. It must be fun."

"Let's do it!" Off they went, umbrellas in hand. It was a good thing that the house had some spare umbrellas and Yui was allowing Azusa and Nodoka to use them.

The good thing about the batting cages at the Amusement Space facility was that they were so well-protected from the elements that since it first opened in 1981, not a single leak was recorded ever. Even with the record intact, the roof and surrounding foundations continued to be fortified from the rain and snow with new space-age material imported here and there.

"Now I don't get why we are even at a batting cage," Azusa said while swinging lazily at a 4-seamer, "because I have never played baseball in my life."

"As I said," Nodoka said, "my cousins are lifelong season-ticket holders for Giants home games at the Dome, and they wanted me to try my hand at swinging a ball when the team was winning." She took a whiff and missed. "Still don't have the mechanics down."

"You cousins must be crazy."

Another swing and a miss. "Crazy about baseball. I can't seem to get the timing off."

Azusa sighed as she watched Yui try her hand at swinging a ball going 90 miles an hour. "Ehhhh, this is difficult," she said, looking at an up-and-coming Little Leaguer from Edogawa Minami getting some pointers from his hitting coach. They were preparing for the national tournament that would go on in the summer, and this advice would prove timely, as the boy was on the All-Star team playing shortstop.

"Now listen, son, I want you to watch the ball carefully as it moves," the coach said demonstrating proper technique. "You wait for the ball, and you visualize a wall right in front of you—two, three feet away, maybe. And then you give it a good smack, like THAT! Easy enough. Got it?"

"Yeah, thanks Pops!" the boy said.

Nodding, Yui turned to the machine, ready to throw the next ball, and planned the motions. "Wait for the ball, visualize a wall in front of me, and...HIT!" In the process, Yui crushed a 100-mph fastball so badly that it not only hit the targeted bulls-eye, the target itself crashed down to the ground. "Number One, baby, wooohoooo!" Yui exclaimed, jumping for joy. "That's a direct hit! How do you like me now?"

"The hell?" the coach said, stunned. "No way..."

"Amazing," the young kid added, mesmerized. "That's a home run hit right there."

Yui turned to the coach and winked while giving a victory sign. "Thanks for the advice, Pops."

He didn't know what to say. "Um...you're welcome, I guess."

Yui turned to see if Azusa was still inside the cage. "Awww, Azunyan, where are you? I hit a home run!" Her lips were pursed. "Killjoy." She opened the entrance door to the batting cage and saw Nodoka and Azusa look on as if they were expecting it to happen from the very beginning. "Ah, there you are Azunyan, Nodoka-chan."

"As expected, when you're able to learn something, you do it so well, just like your sister," Nodoka said.

"You think so? Eheheheheh..."

"Sheesh, Yui, you don't have to be a showoff and take down the target with your hit, you know?" a berated Azusa added.

"Ehhh? That's just how it was; I couldn't help it."

"Whatever. Forget I said anything."

"I wonder..."

A few minutes later, a rather overjoyed Yui was hugging a large plush turtle. "Oh my, that home run prize is huge," Nodoka said.

"Isn't it cute?" Yui said. "Now I can take Ton-chan home with me. Yuw sow adowwabuw, Ton-chan..."

"So now you have my junior in a plush form, is that it?" Azusa deadpanned.

"Whoa! Ton-chan is your junior?" She couldn't believe it. "Wow, now I have a plush version of Azunyan's junior to take home! I'm so happy~~~!"

"Looks like she's in quite a good mood," Nodoka said to Azusa as Yui ballroom-danced with the plush turtle, spinning blissfully.

"Too good, I might say. With that plush version of Ton-chan..." Azusa realized something. "Oh my gosh, we were supposed to feed Ton-chan again today! Crap! We forgot!"

Yui sensed the distress in Azunyan's voice. "Eh, is something the matter, Azunyan?"

"We were supposed to feed Ton-chan today and we forgot!"

"Relax, Azunyan, relax. The school is not too far from here. Let's go. You ready, Nodoka-chan?"

"I just hope I don't get too exhausted from running," she replied.

They made the mad dash for the school, whose gates were open. "Excuse me," Azusa asked the two custodians inside the administration building while breathing heavily, "there's a turtle we need to feed up in the music room. He may be dead if we don't feed him and—"

"Now, now, calm down, calm down," one of them said. "You said there's a turtle upstairs that you need to feed?"

"I'm one of the members of the club that owns the turtle in the music room."

"Ah. I see. Very well. Your last name?"

"N...Nakano. Azusa Nakano."

"Oh, you're one of the guitarists of the club. The freshman have been talking about your skills, keep it up." Azusa smiled. "Hold on, we have the key. Let's get you up there." He handed Azusa the key. "Bring this back when you are done. It's a good thing you brought umbrellas, too. Pretty wet outside, no?"

"It is. Thanks a lot."

"Oh no problem. As custodians, we're here to help."

"Thank you!" Yui exclaimed.

The three of them bowed and made their way up the stairs to the music room.

"These pellets are pretty high-quality material," Nodoka said, grabbing some from the storage room inside for Ton-chan to snack on.

The soft-shelled turtle happily munched on the pellets as Yui watched blissfully. "So friggin' cute..." she said.

"You really have a fascination for turtles, don't you, Yui?"

"I do. They are so nice to watch, and so fun to play with." She stroked her prize for emphasis, rubbing her cheek on it amidst the gesticulations of delight.

Azusa was simply relieved that Ton-chan was all right in spite of the forgetfulness. "Sorry we forgot about you, Ton-chan," she said.

He looked at her with a smile as if to say, "No harm done; I knew you guys weren't going to forget about me anyway. And this is delicious; I wonder who brought this over."

Yui was still nodding side to side, saying Ton-chan's name in a singsong voice. "You know, onee-chan told me that he is as cute as you, Azunyan."

Azusa blushed and wanted to hide in her personal shell. She obviously never got a compliment like that before. Quite flattering. It was really nice to hear that from Ui Hirasawa. "As cute as me, huh?"

She took a closer look at Ton-chan. He looked back as if to say, "I look just like you in a way."

"Hey, here is a spare copy of 'Legacy'!" Nodoka said triumphantly. "And it doesn't say that it's property of the school, so I can keep it! Perfect." She grinned.

"Maybe onee-chan bought an extra copy for somebody, who knows," Yui inferred. The book was originally for Tsumugi, since she was also into romantic novels. Not like she couldn't afford buying her own copy. A book like that would only cost peanuts if one were in Mugi's shoes.

Azusa was still wondering about the bigger picture; that is, the bigger picture coming out of the heavens. "Well, I'm definitely happy for Ton-chan, but still...how long is it going to rain?" She watched the skies, Yui watched the band's turtle, and Nodoka had her nose stuck in 'Legacy'.

"This Sunday was a drag," Yui said, getting up. "I really wanted us to go to the zoo today."

"I can play a little piano," Nodoka said. "Do you want to pass the time with a little music?" They both turned to her in surprise, not so much the suggestion, but the fact that she could indeed play a little bit of the piano. "It's raining outside, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to play as loud as we want. And there isn't anyone here, either."

Yui clasped her hands. "That would be wonderful! How about it, Azunyan?"

"The three of us?" It clicked. "Oh, you mean a power trio! Hey, that would work! Good idea!"

"I forgot to bring Gitah with me, but I can sing. Can I be on vocals for this one?"

"Be my guest."

"Are you okay doing this without any bass or drums?" Nodoka asked.

"Actually," Azusa replied. "I think we have a tape player and some music we can choose." She brought out the player and a box of cassettes.

"Woah! That's a lot of music!" Yui exclaimed. "Can I choose?"

"You're really into this, aren't you?" she asked as she watched her classmate with the clips delve through the stockpile of A-sides and B-sides.

"Eureka!" Finally, Yui had made her choice.

"You chose 'Who Made Who' by AC/DC?"

"Yep!"

"I think I can play that," Nodoka remarked.

Azusa beamed. "Cool. I guess I can, too."

"All right. I like to see how my voice is. Let me unleash my inner Brian Johnson! Here we go! Yes we can!"

"Are there a couple of spare guitars down at the Jazz Club?" she asked Nodoka.

"There should be."

"Can you go grab it for me as I plug this in?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Awesome, I get to play a guitar again!" Yui squealed. "Time to make you proud, onee-chan!"

A few plugs, and few switches, and the three of them played it, with the number playing in the background as an empty track.

* * *

_The video game says "Play me"_

_Face it on a level but it takes you every time on a one on one_

_Feeling running down your spine_

_Nothing gonna save your one last dime cause it owns you_

_Through and through_

_The databank knows my number_

_Says I gotta pay cause I made the grade last year_

_Feel it when I turn the screw_

_Kicks you round the world, there ain't a thing that it can't do_

_Do to you_

_Who made who, who made you?_

_Who made who, ain't nobody told you?_

_Who made who, who made you?_

_If you made them and they made you_

_Who picked up the bill, and who made who?_

_Who made who, who turned the screw?_

_Satellites send me picture_

_Get it in the eye,_

_take it to the world_

_spinning like a dynamo_

_Feel it going round and round_

_Running out of chips, you got no line in an 8-bit town_

_So don't look down, no_

_Who made who, who made you?_

_Who made who, ain't nobody told you?_

_Who made who, who made you?_

_If you made them and they made you_

_Who picked up the bill, and who made who?_

_Ain't nobody told you, who made who?_

* * *

As the number played, the storm passed, and the sun broke loose from its cumulonimbus chains. "That was awesome," Yui said, "I feel like onee-chan already!"

"What you just experienced, Yui," Azusa replied, "was a bit of how we practice our songs at the light music club."

"That was a bit of a doozy to play," Nodoka said. "I think Yui is a good singer. You got quite a voice."

She just had to laugh. "Eheheheheh..." The sun was free once again. "Wow, just like that...the rain is gone."

"That is one wicked sunset," Azusa said.

"It's beautiful," Nodoka added. Sure, Sunday was a drag, having to be left behind and all amidst rainy weather, but music was known to have a saving power that can only heal when it was applied. The three of them could feel its presence. They could see clearly now; the rain was gone.

Yui's cell phone buzzed again. "Oh, let's see what onee-chan has this time." The others gathered around for a closer look. "'Ugh...Gitah, I miss you.'," Azusa read.

Yui was moved. "Awww. I'll text back. 'Don't worry onee-chan, Gitah will be waiting for you. He misses you, too.' And...sent. Gitah needs onee-chan more than I need Gitah, it looks like!"

"Well isn't it obvious?" They all laughed. Ton-chan looked on at the three of them before groovin' in the sunlight of a Sakuragaoka Sunday afternoon.

"I wanna take a picture of the three of us! Scoot a little bit more, Azunyan!"

"Okay, okay."

"Can I get in?" Nodoka asked.

"Suuuure," the other two chorused as if they were a duet.

"Cool."

"Here we go!" Yui exclaimed. "Say cheese!" And so a shot was taken commemorating the day they chased the rain away...with music. The message read, as it was sent to Ui, "Onee-chan, are you feeling jealous? I miss you down here. I want you to bring me ice cream!"

"Take care guys, I'll be on my way," Nodoka said, taking the bus back. "And be sure to bring me more Danielle Steel books to borrow, if you can."

"I will, Nodoka-chan," Yui said. "See you!"

"Have a safe trip home, and don't forget your stop!" Azusa added. The evening came pretty quickly with the passage of time. She turned to Yui, still cuddling her plushie from earlier. "You think she'll be fine?"

"Ehhh? Of course she'll be fine. She knows where she has to go. You worry too much, Azunyan."

"I'm not worried, that's...that's just how I am, you know."

"Azunyan?"

"What?"

She gave thumbs up and said in a sumotori-like intonation, "You're the best. Dosukoi, dosukoi!" Soon after, it was back to her regular pitch as the bus left. "I had lots of fun today, Azunyan! I got to hit a home run, fed Ton-chan and played with you guys!"

"For someone who isn't a member of our club...you're not too bad. You really need to consider joining us next year."

"We'll see."

Soon after, Azusa's cell phone was ringing. It was Ui again, this time with her courtesy call.

* * *

Azusa answered the phone. "Hello, who's this?"

Ui couldn't believe the unfamiliarity. "It's me, Azunyan."

"Ui-sempai! How are you?"

"Great. Or, as they say in the Kansai, 'Ma, bochi-bochi denna.' Listen. How are things down at the house. It's not a mess down there, is it?"

"Well, not really," she responded, "but your younger sister seems to be quite a handful. How the hell do you put up with her, Ui-sempai?"

"Simple. I clean up for her."

"Man, that's exactly what I had to do. Her room is a literal mess. It's a pigsty, man! Unbelievable!"

"Onee-chan...ice cream..." Yui moaned in the background.

"Can I speak with her?" Ui asked Azusa.

"Um...sure. Hold on. Yui, it's for you."

"Hi, onee-cha~~~~n!" she squealed.

"Hey there Yui. How you doing?"

"Onee-chan, I want some ice cream!"

"Listen, and I'll be telling Azunyan this too. We're gonna be coming back tomorrow morning and when class is over, we'll stop by the FamilyMart and buy you a few cartons. All on me, your flavor."

"Cool. You're the best, onee-chan!"

"And we're gonna give you some souvenirs. Be sure to put them away when I hand them to you. Don't make a mess."

"Okay."

"All right. Can I go speak with Azunyan?"

"Here you go, Azunyan," Yui said to Azusa, handing the phone over.

"Ui-sempai, how's Kyoto down there?"

"It's a beautiful place. They got some good temples and shrines down here. We also got to feed some monkeys that live in the area, too. And we even tried our hand at speaking the dialect here."

"Hmmmm. Sounds like fun."

"Hey Azunyan, have you heard of yatsuhashi?"

"Oh, that's the sweet that they sell down there, right? Yeah, I've heard of it."

"We're gonna be bringing you a boxload of it when we get back."

"Awesome! Ui-sempai, it had been raining for a while down here and me, Yui and Nodoka had to stay at your house for the night because it was raining like crazy."

"It was?"

"Yeah, it was."

"I hope you didn't get wet."

"No, as a matter of fact we stayed dry."

"That's good. What do you think of some of the pics we sent you?"

"These are great shots, but I don't get the 'skulls' message Ritsu-sempai sent me. But Yui was laughing like crazy when she read the message. And she was coughing."

"I was not!" Yui complained with a pout.

Azusa covered the phone. "Yes, you were!"

"Azunyan?" Ui asked.

"Yes?"

"While we're away, I need you to fill my shoes and make sure that Yui does not cause any trouble. Past experiences have told me that she is not a very good host, and because of this, I have to watch her every move because she can be hard to handle at times. Can you do that for me?"

"Actually, Ui-sempai, me and Nodoka have been taking turns watching over her. We actually had some fun and went to a batting cage to practice our swing. So it wasn't too bad. Yui's pretty well-behaved. She just likes to...how can I say this...feel up on me sometimes." Ui snickered in the background. "Is there something funny?"

"No, not really, that's just how she is. But she's the best younger sister I could ever have. You should be fine. I'm gonna go ahead and hang up soon. I hope you guys are safe down there, and we'll be back later on. And be sure to watch over Yui. Don't go too crazy over her, or I will be mad."

A sweatdrop came down Azusa's head. "Y...Yes, Ui-sempai!"

"Okay. Love ya!" And Ui hung up.

"You didn't tell her that I was kissing and groping you, did you, Azunyan?" Yui asked.

Azusa shuddered. "If I did, I would be dead meat."

Oh, betcha by golly wow, she would be!

* * *

The sparkling pond of Sakuragaoka Girls' High welcomed Monday morning not with hindsight-based criticism, but with foretelling optimism. "Ehhh, is that so?" Azusa asked Yui.

"Onee-chan told me that aside from what she told you, they couldn't find anything else for you because they couldn't make up their minds."

"Nodoka and Yui, here's where I do a little quarterbacking. This was a situation where they could have called me on my cell phone and gave me the suggestions. The yatsuhashi is fine, but I really should have had a say in all this because this was going to be their gift to me in the end. It's not like I'm going to want to eat that stuff now, especially after hearing this tripe."

"Excellent quarterbacking; no picks," Nodoka commented. The two of them looked at her with quizzical faces. "All right, I'm sorry; that was a bad joke."

"It was."

"Yeah, it was."

"A~~zunyan!" She was soon met by Ui's warm embrace.

"Nya!" Azusa shrieked.

"Welcome back," Nodoka said.

"N how's mah sweet lil' kitty kat doin' at a tahm lahk thays?" Ui asked, rubbing her cheek on Azunyan's.

"Ah, mou! You scared me, Ui-sempai! And why are you speaking in Kansai-ben? You crazy?"

"Hey, I missed you, onee-chan!" Yui said. "You must have had a lot of fun. I really wish I was there!"

"I know, I know." Yui crossed her arms as she pouted in envy.

"Ui-sempai, stop it. Everyone is watching us make love in the hall! And you morons suck anyway for not giving me any souvenirs other than the fucking sweets!" Azusa cried.

"That must be how much Ui loves Azusa, huh Yui?" Nodoka asked Yui.

"It looks wonderful. We both like to play with her. That's something we both share."

"I see."

"Actually, we did bring you something else," Ui said. "It's waiting for you inside the music room. Come on, I'll show you!"

"Really? I hope you're not joking," Azusa warned.

"No, I'm serious. I want to show you. Come on! Mugi's also preparing some tea, too!" "Oh, all right."

"See you guys." They both ran off to the music room.

"I think all is going to be right with the world," Yui said to Nodoka, elbowing her.

"As long as God's in his heaven, right Yui?"

"Evangelion!" they both said to each other, pointing and laughing.

"Here you go, Azunyan!" Yui said, handing her the box of yatsuhashi...and a charm.

Azusa read the syllable. "Bu?"

"Mio-chan thought of this at the last second, just before we were about to check out of our hotel room," Tsumugi explained. "There were some souvenirs of different hiragana, and there were five of them that spelled out our club's name. We felt that the sweets weren't going to be enough. We wanted something that not only was indicative of our trip, but really showed that you WERE with us, even though it was in spirit."

"We chose to claim them by order of how we were formed," Ui said. "I got 'n', Ricchan's got 'ke' because she was the first to come up with the idea of reviving the club, Mio's got 'i' because she was brought in by Ricchan and Mugi's got 'o' because she was third to join the club. You get the ending syllable because you are the fifth member of the club."

"I guess it all makes sense," Azusa said.

"And we base it on our favorite colors," Ritsu added. "I like orange, Ui likes pink (although she also likes orange, and my default color would actually be yellow, but orange was all they have, and knowing my tendencies, I got first priority), Mio loves the blue, and Mugi is content with purple."

"I like green. You guys read my mind."

"You thought we were going to let you down?' Mio asked Azusa.

"Everyone, I guess you did remember me after all."

"Always," Ui said. "No one forgets anybody in this club, ever. Guys," she motioned to the others, "let's spell this out."

Ritsu was fired up. "Let's do this! 1, 2, 3!" She, Mio, Mugi and Ui showed their charms on the four corners of the table dotted by milk tea and strawberry cheesecake with blueberries.

"I see where this is going."

"And it spells 'Okebuin', a member who loves buckets!" Ritsu exclaimed, striking a pose. Ui rolled her eyes.

"Strike One!" Mio responded.

"Ibuonke! The official name of a ghost who rocks the Tohoku region like the Abominable Snowman!"

"Strike Two!"

"Swing and a miss to Tainaka, who hacked at that one bad," Ui said to Mugi, keeping score in her head while sipping her cup.

"This spells our club," Azusa corrected. "It spells 'Keionbu.'" They all turned to her.

"And this one's outta here!" Ui exclaimed. "That's the ball game folks!" They all smiled.

"Right on the money, Azusa-chan," Tsumugi said. Azusa placed her piece on the table, completing the spellout.

"No matter where we are, no matter where we go, no matter where our lives will take us, you can never ever forget that you were a part of something special," said Ui to Azusa as the five of them joined forces again.

"I will never forget, Ui-sempai. I will never forget." Azusa took a deep breath, her strength and morale restored. "Let's practice, you guys. It's Keion-bu Time!"

"We're still tired from the trip," Ui said, "so we'll pace ourselves and have some tea today."

Ritsu was asleep as a lion. "That's what she said."

Azusa hung her head in disgust. "Sheesh. I guess some things never change." Needless to say, with all five members back in the fold, the Light Music Club were ready for the long haul as the days passed on by across the Sakuragaoka skies. At least they knew who made who.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 5**


	6. Ride On

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 6:**

**Ride On**

**

* * *

**

One of the biggest gripes that Ui Hirasawa had regarding her younger sister Yui was her innate ability to be sleepy and inattentive at will. She was obligated to picture a bullwhip in her head, to get Yui to wake up and get motivated to learn something at Sakuragaoka. Yui was a helpless five-year old in a 16-year old's body, and that said something. Yui never wanted to let go of that inner child that dreamt of snacks, laziness and ice cream without a care in the world. That was the world Yui was born with, and that was the world she wanted to stay with for as long as she lived. However, Ui always kept in mind that when she got her to do something, Yui focused her energy on getting it done, and she did it well, at times better that she did.

"Oh God, you are still sleeping again Yui?" Ui asked in a disappointed tone. Outside, the rain was pouring incessantly. Another storm system swept through the metropolis, but Yui was oblivious to the sound of the rain, still sleeping soundly as if it were quiet outside.

"Hmmmm...I'm looking for a kiss," Yui murmured softly through her shut eyes.

"New York Dolls?" Ui was scratching her head. She best believe her younger sister was in love, L-U-V.

"Onee-chan, can you give me a kiss?"

Ui rolled her eyes, and took Yui's blanket, causing her younger sister to shiver uncontrollably. "Not right now. Come on, we gotta go!"

Yui slowly woke up, arms crossed and still shivering. "Ehhh, onee-chan, you're mean."

"It's my job as your older sister to wake you up. We have to get going or we'll be late."

"Fine, fine. It's not like I can't get up by myself, onee-chan."

"Whether you can or can't, I know that I have to literally break the bullwhip out on you when it's morning and you're still asleep." Yui pouted, and then got showered up. Sighing, Ui cleaned up her sister's bed as part of the usual routine, then got the bento of the day ready. They were going to need their umbrellas for this one, too. "Hurry up down there!" Ui reminded again from downstairs.

"Man, this storm was never the case down in Kyoto," Ui said with a frown as the two of them went off. "Hold on tight to your dreams, we are gonna be in for a rough ride with the rainy season on the way."

"I hope your guitar doesn't get wet, onee-chan," Yui said, a worried tone dominant in her voice as they both left the house.

"Yui, hold my bag as we go along, can you?"

"All right." Ui slung her guitar in front on her and clutched it with hands as she unfurled her umbrella. The case, though, was waterproof and was designed to withstand such inclement conditions, Apparently, Ui wanted to make sure that the case didn't get too wet either.

"Cool." As she did, the two were off and walking.

"You seem to be like lovers under an umbrella," Yui noted as they went on their way.

"Precisely," Ui replied with a wink, to which Yui beamed in response. "Thanks for the bag, by the way," she added as Yui snapped her school bag around her left arm. "This is going to work my arms for a bit."

"You okay, onee-chan?"

"I hope so."

* * *

The path to the school was going to be a wet one. "You know, I am not a fan of the rainy season one fucking bit," Ui said to Yui, her shirt beginning to get soaked.

"I can see why, onee-chan; your shirt is getting soaked!" She tried to brush off the moisture, but it was going to keep coming for the time being.

They continued to pace their way down to the school, where a bunch of reckless grade-school kids were dashing their way through puddles. Ui had to shield her guitar from the splash. "Hey, watch where you're stepping, you little punks!" she shouted as they went off.

"That was scary, onee-chan."

"I had my coffee this morning."

A white shepherd dog walking by took a look at Ui before shaking off the moisture in front of her.

"Onee-chan!" Yui said with fear in her eyes. "Whoa ma'am, can you tell Mr. Tadakichi to dry off elsewhere?" Ui asked the owner.

"Sorry about that, miss," she said.

"Next time he does that, I will weigh my options against you for negligence, and you'd better pay up, because I will win my case."

"Duly noted! We're sorry!"

"All right..."

"Assertive indeed."

"Gotta be. Gotta be." A purple car passed by, splashing more water on Ui. That was the last straw. "Yui, hold these for me," she said to Yui, handing her the umbrella, bag and guitar. That had to be a heavy load.

"Onee-chan...What are you gonna do?"

"Watch."

Ui took out a 500-yen coin, flipped it in the air, and with a large charge of electricity in the form of a railgun, flicked it with pinpoint accuracy towards the guilty vehicle, causing it to violently flip a few times before exploding into a flaming ball of scrap metal and glass shards on the spot, turning the driver into nothing but ashes. It also took out a few other vehicles, but they suffered minimal damage. The phenomenon did hold traffic up for a few hours.

"Oh my goodness...we better take off. Sorry we bothered with you!" the dog owner said as the two of them dashed off. Apparently, she was aware that her shepherd could be the next to be fried.

"Amazing! How the heck did you do that, onee-chan?" Yui asked.

Electricity could be seen surrounding Ui. "What?"

She flailed. "Never mind, never mind!" Yui quickly handed Ui her guitar, bag and umbrella. "I think we should go, right?"

"Well, at least that heartless son of a bitch won't be splashing on my watch anymore. Let's go, Yui."

"Onee-chan..." Yui was simply amazed that her older sister could pull off such an amazing feat that easily. The driver picked the wrong person to splash on his way to work, and he paid for it with his life. Plain and simple. The ironic thing was that the police diagnosed the cause as a problem with the engine, and the fuel tank, both being struck by lightning. Of course, the real reason came from justice being served Ui Hirasawa-style.

* * *

The whole campus was talking about the explosion that took place outside the school. A couple of familiar faces were talking about the matters in private.

"Hey Ritsu, did you hear of some crazy stuff taking place outside?" Mio Akiyama asked Ritsu Tainaka back at Class 3-2.

Ritsu had her head to the desk. "What about it?"

"A lot of folks were talking about that explosion. Some chat about a car being blown apart into pieces and the driver killed immediately."

"Explosion? Mio, have you been watching those shows where there are nothing but explosions after boring explosions? Those special effects are fine for rock concerts, but I'm not in a mood for action movies today."

"Uh, I wasn't talking about that. See, this was the real deal, Ritsu. I am not sure where you're getting with this, but this crap happened earlier this morning."

"Damn. Guess that sucks."

"A lot of people in our class are telling me that the traffic is terrible, and that people who are getting dropped off are late because of the accident that happened." An accident of justice, of course.

"Well, aren't they putting that shit on detour already, Mio? They have to be, you know?"

"This just caught them by surprise. I'm sure the detours are already in full force right about now." Sighing, she looked at the window. "Damn, the rain is pouring cats and dogs again. It's not letting up one bit."

She turned to Mio with a disappointed face. "I'm getting sick and tired of the rain."

"Man, when it rains this much, I still get wet even with an umbrella. It's pouring that hard." She noticed Tsumugi Kotobuki doing something across the room in her seat. "Mugi, what are you doing?"

She was busy primping her hair, checking for any split ends. Mugi was that much into maintaining her appearance. "Um, I was just...doing my hair."

"Ahh."

A soaked Ui opened the door. "Morning, everyone."

"Hey Ui," Mio said.

"Morning," the others replied. "Holy shit, you're soaked!"

"That I am, that I am," Ui said with a laugh. "Yui dried me off with her handkerchief."

"I brought a towel, if you need it," Mugi offered.

"Well you sure came prepared," Mio said to her.

"Thanks, Mugi," Ui said as she placed Gitah*h on the back. "There you go. Okay, be a good boy here while I dry off, all right?"

"You have a lot of love for your guitar, Ui," Himeko Tachibana commented. It's like she's your boyfriend or something."

"Himeko, you'd best believe that we are that close," Ui replied to her and Akane Sato with a wink. "You might as well fly me to Las Vegas and sign me up to a commitment ceremony to make it all official."

"I hope you're happy."

"We are." They both laughed.

Mugi proceeded to dry Ui's hair with the love that only she could deliver. "Do you itch anywhere?" she asked.

"Oh no sweetie pie, you're doing a fine job, and I love you for it," she replied with a laugh. "Oh my. Actually dahling, don't make me say that."

"What the hell are you pretending to be, Ui?" Ritsu asked with a raised eyebrow.

"One of the random stars of Hollywood, getting a makeover or facial before the next scene on the set of [insert Academy Award winning flick here]," Mio said.

"This is part of what a hairdresser does," Tsumugi explained.

"Oh geez, you're at it again. She's at it again," Ritsu motioned to Mio with a "here we go again" tone to her speech. "So, Ui," she said in her trademark naughty tone, "what happened to you? Did you fall, like one of those played silver screen clichés/tropes?"

"Let's just say that I don't like being soaked by reckless drivers," Ui replied, "why trying to keep Gitah dry."

"Wait a minute...you weren't the one who blew that car apart, were you?"

"I was."

Ritsu almost fell out of her seat. "Holy shit, that was awesome! I didn't know you could do that!"

"You pulled off a stunt from Mikoto Misaka's playbook?" Mio asked, in disbelief. "Her trademark attack, the Railgun? Get out of here!"

"Oh my," Tsumugi said. "Oh my, oh my, oh my."

"That's justice for you," Ui said. The other three applauded, and Mugi continued to dry Ui's hair.

"Damn. I'm gonna have to think twice before insulting you ever again," Ritsu said, shivering.

"You're cool, Ricchan. You're cool."

"I think what you need to do next time for better protection is put your guitar in a waterproof plastic bag, like I did," Mio said.

"Whoops. I believe ran out of my allowance last week, so I couldn't buy any more large bags. And the ones they have at the FamilyMart aren't big enough to fit my guitar."

"That's on the store, then," Mio deadpanned, a sweatdrop coming down her forehead.

"And...We're done," Mugi said to Ui as she finished drying up Ui's hair. "Your hair's dry, but now there's split ends."

Ui was in anguish. "Uh oh. It's a mess! It seems all my efforts this morning were all in vain!"

"The humidity of the rainy season is becoming quite a pain in the ass," Ritsu remarked. "I look like this when I wake up too."

"I also spend a lot of time in front of a mirror every morning," Tsumugi added.

"I see, so you're feeling the pinch from all of this," Ui said.

"So that's why you were checking your hair for any split ends earlier," Mio concluded.

"We're now officially part of the curly hair sorority," Ui said to Tsumugi.

"Yep."

Mio observed the comparisons. "They're both curly, but is there any difference?" she said to herself. Ritsu looked on with a hesitant chuckle.

Ui sneezed. "Achoo! Oh drat."

"Oh boy, you'd better go change into some drier clothes before you catch a cold," Tsumugi said.

"There's no dryer in this building, so we have to hang this up in the club room," Ritsu said.

"I do have to apologize for having to make you folks come along with me," Ui said as they made their way upstairs. "Gross, even the indoor shoes are soggy already. Is the rain that bad?" She proceeded to take off her socks. "Oh god, and my stockings, too...this is just a drag."

Mugi came in with a bucket and a teapot. "I heated some water."

They all turned to her. "The heck? We're having tea already?" Ui asked. Mugi placed the bucket at Ui's feet, and then poured the hot water into it. "And drink this out of the bucket?"

"Nope. This is to warm your feet."

"Thanks, Mugi." She dipped her feet in the water, and the heat boosted her immune system, warming her up. "Man, this feels good. So warm..." Ritsu placed a hot towel on her. "Heaven. Can it get any better? It's getting better all the time."

"Can't get no worse," Ritsu said.

"I have to admit that I don't feel like going to class now," Ui said, her soaked indoor shoes watching it all unfold.

"You can't skip them!" Mio shot back.

"Crap, I got scolded." Ui said, shrinking.

"Ui-chan, take your clothes off once you've warmed up," Tsumugi said. "We'll dry them."

"All right." Ui took her vest off, her split ends sticking out.

"Welcome home, dearest!"

"Thank you, honeybunch, it's good to be back," she replied, handing Tsumugi her vest to be dried on the music rack.

"Thank you."

She sneezed again. "Achoo!"

"Just hurry up and change!" Ritsu said, alarmed.

* * *

After taking off her soaked clothes, Ui, now wrapped in a black shroud, turned Gitah around so as to avoid seeing her luscious frame in its natural state. "Ui-chan, we hung up your clothes," Tsumugi said.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing," Mio asked.

Ui turned around. "What?"

She shrunk back in fear. "That's scary!"

"I don't want Gitah to see me look this hot and sexy," Ui said, wiggling around.

Mio placed a palm to her forehead. "Right, right," Ritsu said with a bored expression.

Ui turned her back on Ritsu. "She didn't take me seriously, Gitah. Me so disappointed."

"So what are you gonna wear now?"

"We're not having gym class today, so we didn't wear our gym clothes," Mio said.

"By the way," Ui noted, "you look great in a gym uniform."

"Why...do you say that?"

"You got the curves."

Mio blushed madly, and her heart skipped a beat. "Th...Thanks." Ui smiled and gave a victory sign.

Tsumugi was lost in thought. "Makes you wonder."

So was Ritsu. "Hmmm...a-ha!" An idea came to her head. She went to the storage room, where there was a rack of cosplay outfits from Miss Sawako Yamanaka.

Ritsu pulled out the rack "We have Sawa-chan's specially tailored costumes! The light music club's tragic past!"

"Really..." Mio said, another sweatdrop coming down her forehead.

Ui took a look at the outfits in store. One of the outfits in the lineup was a cosplay outfit of Rin Kagamine of Vocaloid2 fame, complete with hairpiece and all the trimmings. "This should do it. Cool," Ui said. She proceeded to get dressed.

"Wait...you chose Rin?" Ritsu asked. "Shouldn't you have Len with you?"

"Word up, Ricchan," Ui said as she got dressed. "Rin doesn't necessarily need Len or Miku in this case. She is awesome in her own right."

"Aha, I knew I would fine Ui here," Jun Suzuki said as she walked in. "So, how are you? Getting yourself dry from the rain?"

"Oh man, it has been terrible down there," she groaned.

"Glad to see you dry. Homeroom is starting. You'd better get on over to class. And you guys, too," Jun said to the other three in the room.

"How the heck did you find out that were up here in the first place?" Ritsu asked.

"Process of elimination. There was a 99.9% chance that you were going to be here, so I went with this."

"How is that a process of elimination?" Ritsu screamed. "That's common sense!"

"That, too..."

"As expected of the great Jun Suzuki," Ui said, finished with putting on her outfit and putting her ribbon on.

"By the way, that looks good on you. Can I take a photo?"

"Go right ahead."

Jun whipped out her cell phone and took a shot.

"She's really photogenic, Ui is, isn't she?" Ritsu said to Mio.

"Definitely."

Mugi was mesmerized, hands to her cheek. "Dontakoi desu!"

Homeroom began at Class 3-2 without any more hitches. Well, there were going to be. "Everyone, good morning," Miss Sawako said amidst the dying chatter. "I hope you all are safe and dry from the rain. I will go ahead and take attendance." She noticed a long queue in front of Ui, who was cosplaying as Rin Kagamine handing out autographed cards of her singing. "Everyone, get back to your seats! You can do your autographing later. And Hirasawa, why are you dressed like that?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Sawako," Ui replied as she continued to sign cards and photographs were being taken, "but my clothes got wet from the rain, so I'm wearing this instead."

"B...But you shouldn't dress that way at school. This is a class, not an anime convention!"

"Oh come on Miss Sawako," Ritsu said with her hands behind her head as she relaxed in her chair, "aren't these the clothes you brought to the music room?" The secret was out. Miss Sawako looked at her with a piercing stare as Ritsu blinked. "Oh my fucking god, the hell? Lady, I was speaking the truth! The truth, god dammit!"

"Isn't there anything else for you to wear?" Sawako said to Ui, who was wrapping up signing cards.

"Not sure," she replied. Finally, she signed the last one.

Jun came in the room with a gym uniform for Ui. "Sorry I'm late," she said. She walked over to her friend in the corner, decked out in the Rin Kagamine costume. "I borrowed these from a student in Class 3-3. Will this work. They're your size, too."

She frowned. "Awww..."

"What's wrong?"

"That's a gym uniform. Besides, I wanted to wear something else for a change," Ui said, a finger to her chin.

"That's enough; go change already!" Sawako exclaimed to Ui, pointing in her direction.

"Yes, ma'am!" Ui shrieked, beads of sweat going down her forehead. The gym uniform had to do for now.

* * *

Yui, Azusa and Nodoka walked over to the music room as part of their daily errand to feed Ton-chan. Azusa needed to find some personal materials that she misplaced in the room. "Oh Ton-chan, you're such a cutie pie," Yui said, tapping at the glass before dropping some pellets in the water. Next to Ton-chan's tank was a tape player that was plugged in.

Azusa looked at the set of wet clothes hanging on the music rack and microphone stands. "What the fuck is this?" Azusa said to Nodoka and Yui.

"Hey Azusa," Nodoka said. "Did you find what you were looking for?" Yui and Nodoka went over to her.

"I don't believe this..."

"Who's clothes are those?"

"Ohhh, that's onee-chan's clothes," Yui said. "They must have dried them." She was referring to Mio, Mugi and Ritsu. "Or maybe it's something else..." She walked over to the tape player and played some music. It was Screamin Jay Hawkins. "I put a spell on you...because you're mine..."

"What the hell?" Nodoka said.

"Ui-sempai's clothes?" Azusa put a palm to her forehead. "Oh dear, don't emulate him!"

"Stop the things you do," Yui sang as she grabbed Ui's stockings for a sniff, "Muhuhehe, wazzup? I lied!" Azusa and Nodoka had to cover their ears as they her piercing scream put a few cracks in the glass. They would have to be replaced later in the week. "I can't stand, oooooh! No runnin' around! I can't stand no put-me-down! I put a spell on you, because...you're mi~~~~~~~~ne! Ohhhhh yeah! Uuuurrugh!"

Azusa and Nodoka had to put up with Yui's lame attempt at voodoo rituals for the longest time before their returned to the second floor where the sophomores were situated.

* * *

The Home Economics room was located in Room 3-6 of the Sakuragaoka Girls Campus, and had several ironing boards available. Apparently this was also where some of the spare uniforms were stored. It took about two hours before Ui recovered her clothes from the rack and stands. Now donning her track outfit, she took her sweet time to fold the pleats of her skirt. "Looks good as new," she said.

"You're a natural at this," Mugi said.

"I sometimes have to do this for my sister. Actually I do this every week because Yui never bothers to iron her clothes."

"Never?' Mio asked for clarification.

"Never."

Ritsu was busy sewing some buttons on Ui's shirt. "Hey Ui?"

"Sup, Ricchan?"

"Seems one of your buttons was coming off. I re-sewed it back on."

"Cool," Ui said, getting her shirt back. "Thanks."

"You know, Ritsu," Mio said, "you're not an ace with small handiwork, but when it comes to sewing buttons, it's bang, bang, bang—automatic."

"Awww, leave me alone, will you?" she retorted.

"Oh man, now this bad boy is too good to wear," Ui said savoring the freshness and dryness of her shirt.

Ritsu was nonplussed at the spectacle, but put a hand behind her head. "No problem, I supposed I did my job." Ui proceeded to change back into her uniform and looked as if she wasn't wet from the storm outside. As she was about to leave, she noticed something unusual. "Hey Yui, are you fin leaving your track pants on?"

"Whoops, I forgot I had them on. Good work, Eagle Eyes. But nobody will tell when I sit down, though."

Here's where Ritsu turned herself loose. "But aren't you ashamed as a girl?"

"Huh? What do you mean? You do it all the time."

Mio was the last to walk out of 3-6. "That's correct," Ritsu admitted.

"So what are you girls doing?" Miss Sawako asked.

"Hey, Miss Sawako, how are ya?" Ui asked.

Their teacher noticed the pants she was wearing. "You're gonna need to take off the sweat pants," Sawako said.

"Out here? Man that's a drag."

"Tainaka, tuck your shirt in."

Ritsu was stunned. "The hell?"

"This is unusual, because you've never been this in control before," Ui noted.

Ritsu sensed that there was something out of the ordinary with Miss Sawako. "Why are you like this today? What's going on?"

The headmaster was approaching. That was the reason. "Hirasawa, Tainaka, no complaints; do as I say."

"Right," they both said. Ritsu tucked her shirt.

The headmaster checked in to meet them. "Good morning," she said.

"Yes, hello ma'am," Miss Sawako replied.

"It seems to be a bit of a problem," the headmaster noted while going downstairs, carrying a box of supplies.

"No need to worry, though; we are all right out here."

"I'm not worried at all." She continued to go down stairs.

Sawako turned to Ui. "Hirasawa, hurry up and take your track pants off!"

"But it's better this way," she replied.

"No, means NO! Now get going!"

"But I won't have to worry about the skirt being flipped up like Kazari Uiharu in To Aru Kagaku no Railgun. And even if I trip, the girls won't see my panties!"

"Whatever; just take them OFF!"

Sawako proceeded to pull down Ui's pants, causing her to moan delightfully. "Nooo!" she cried as if she was getting stimulated by it all. "Miss Sawako, you mustn't! Otherwise, I'm afraid you are going to rape me in an X-rated act of tribadism against the wall in front of everyone! My virginity will be lost! My purity...tainted! Please, stop, stop, ahhhhh!"

All the other students were looking at Miss Sawako with horrified looks. "That sounds as if I'm molesting you!" she cried. Ritsu, Mio and Tsumugi looked at each other with looks of exasperation and embarrassment.

"Fuck, now I've seen it all," Ritsu said to the other two next to her.

"You haven't," Mio replied back.

Tsumugi concurred as Ui continued to squirm around. "Yes. She hasn't." Sawako would be wise not to stimulate Ui any more, lest there be a wet spot creeping between her trembling legs again.

* * *

Ui was able to take her track pants off back at Class 3-2. Flipping through her iPod, she played "Kind of a Drag" by the Buckinghams, humming the melody.

"Well she's back in her school uniform," Ushio Ota noted to Keiko Iida.

"Yeah, she is," Keiko replied. "But it's kind of a drag because she looked awesome in that Rin outfit."

"I think Ui looks great when she is dressed up like Rin. It just looks totally awesome."

"And she knows how Rin signs her cards," she said, holding the autographed photo she just obtained during home room. "She's done her homework."

"Besides the class work."

"Besides that." They both laughed.

Ui was with Jun, Ritsu Mugi and Mio when they heard what Ushio and Keiko were saying. "The fallout begins, dearest Jun," Ui pouted, a finger to her lips.

She has a sympathetic look to it.

"You don't have to pander to their expectations," Jun said, a sweatdrop going down her forehead. "You're not an idol yet."

The others laughed as Ui groaned at her misfortunes in disgust. Mio looked at the storm system passing through outside the window. "Hooo boy, it's still raining," she said as they all looked on.

"Damn, we're gonna get wet," Ritsu added.

"I know."

"I hear it's going to rain tomorrow," Jun noted.

"And I have to protect Gitah on my way home, too!" thought Ui to herself. It was difficult enough for Ui to have to go to class with Gitah wet, but having to bring him back home was going to be troublesome. She pumped a fist and looked to the heavens for strength, in the hopes that both she and her guitar would brave the elements without any damage, or worse, another car blown apart for reckless driving.

Later that day in the music room during the club meeting, Azusa got some closure. "So you were the one that blew up the car earlier today?" she said to Ui, sipping milk tea from her pink kitty cup. "I'm stunned you didn't get arrested and the cops concluded that it was just lightning struck."

"Exactly."

"And to think that you could pull out Misaka's technique that easily..."

"I just hate it when people decide to not watch where they're driving."

"Hey Azusa, did you get past the rain without any problems?" Mio asked her.

"Yes, I did. Over at 10GIA's website last week, I bought a special raincoat for my Fender." She pointed to her guitar, wrapped in a teal casing. Priced at 1980 yen, it protected her instruments from rain, snow and extreme dust. It was her weapon's all-weather scabbard.

"So you bought this online?" Ui asked.

"Correct."

"Impressive. I was surprised that the store had an online website."

"You actually get some savings because at the store, it would cost 3000 yen but I only got this for 1980. And this is very handy." She brought out from her bag a package of desiccant. "This is a desiccant that prevents it from being all moldy and stuff. I apply this on my guitar before I pack it in my case."

"Hmmm. Double impressive."

Azusa brought out another item from the bag. "I also got this for 750 yen online at the site. This is a guitar hanger that you put on your wall. It's in the shape of a cat's paw." Azusa took out another item from her bag. "Here is a finger trainer that stretches your fingers. If you can't do this simultaneously, this gadget priced at 600 yen will help you."

"Triple and quadruple impressive."

"No kidding," Mio said.

"I also bought a CD at 800 yen that trains your sense of rhythm as you sleep," Azusa added, procuring a disc. "I asked about this item and if similar musicians had success with it, and it had a 95% success rate."

"Quintuple impressive," Ui said. "What's the site again?"

".jp."

".jp. Roger that, Azunyan!" She proceeded to write the address on her book of notes.

Mio was a bit envious. "Azusa."

"Yes?"

She paused before she went on. "Are they really that useful?"

"Eh?" Azusa blushed. She sensed that the others were envious of her preparedness. She thought about it for a bit before answering Mio's 5,000,000 yen question. "Yes, they are."

"There are materials for the bass, right?"

"Left-handed options, too."

Mio's eyes flamed as she pumped a fist. "All right, I am going to that site tonight!"

Azusa then opted to change the subject. "I just realized why there was a uniform hanging in the room. Yui told me that it was a voodoo spell, and that someone was putting a spell on somebody because she was hers. She couldn't stand any running around of put-me-downs."

"That was probably Yui bring Yui, apparently," Ui said. "Singing that tripe from Screamin' Jay Hawkins."

"Oh yeah, and she also said that was you guys drying the clothes and Yui smelled your stockings."

Mio paled. "You're kidding," she said quietly.

Ritsu almost fell out of her seat. "What the fuck?"

Tsumugi's nose was starting to trickle with blood. She had to get a handkerchief. "Did her panties get wet from the smell?" Mugi asked, her eyes sparkling with naughty intentions.

Ui brushed it aside. "Yui being Yui indeed."

Azusa had a look of contempt at Mio, Mugi and Ritsu. "But you know what? I'm impressed!" she said to Ui.

"You are? Why is that?"

"You decided to sacrifice yourself to protect your guitar."

Ui saluted her with a wink. "I guard Gitah with my life, until the day I die." Azusa smiled hesitantly while Ritsu exchanged a sheepish expression and a few chuckles to her head-over-heels partner-in-crime.

"Still, you should be careful," Azusa added, the others turning to her. "If you don't take care of your guitar and dry it, mold can grow on the fret board."

Mio blinked and shrunk in fear. "You didn't just say..."

"Oh really?" Ritsu knew what to do. "That's right, sweetheart. When you open the case, all that nasty putrid mold could grow on the fret board of your bass and it will get all smelly and stinky and put you in the hospital for a week!"

"Geeeeh!"

"Ritsu-sempai," Azusa said as she looked at a traumatized Mio, "shut up."

Ui zipped open her case. "Azunyan, I may need your desiccant if it's gotten bad," she said.

"No mold here," she replied as they both looked at the Gibson Les Paul Cherry Sunburst, "but the strings look kinda rusty."

"You think I have to restring this thing?"

"Maybe. When was the last time you did it?"

"Two months ago, based on our previous visits to 10GIA."

"Hmmm. I think it would be a good idea, then. You have a new set of strings on hand?"

"I do." Ui was able to salvage some money on the previous visit to the store to buy a package of extra steel strings. She took out the package, then laid Gitah on her lap to replace the strings with special scissors from the supply room. Ui looked away as she snapped one of the strings apart with the scissors. She cried out in anguish as she did so, as if it was slapping her for implied betrayal. "Gitah! How dare you attack me!"

Azusa looked on with a bemused look. "I suggest that you loosen the pegs first before you cut them."

Ui did so. "I'm going to put a new set of strings on you, Gitah. Please bear with it, okay?" She gave it a good rub of assurance.

Mio, Tsumugi and Ritsu walked on over. "It's good that you take care of it, but you don't have to speak so dearly to it every time you get the chance."

Ui blinked. "Huh? You have to be kidding me, Azunyan. Don't you understand how important this baby of mine is to me?"

"I do, but..."

Ui put her hands to her cheeks. "Oh, but is my precious Azunyan jealous that I have this and you don't? Huuuuuh?"

Azusa gasped and blushed wildly, clearly shocked by her answer. "W-what the hell are you talking about? Of course I'm not!"

Ritsu had to weigh in on the possibility from an outsider's perspective. "Mercy sakes, looks like we got us a triangle."

"I thought you meant a convoy," Mio said, agitated, "but why a triangle? And what the heck are you up to with your observations this time, Ritsu?"

Azusa turned to the drumming prognosticator, appalled with a sweat drop going down. "Oh god, not you too!"

"I see, this is a love triangle," Mio concluded, pounding her left fist into her right hand for emphasis. "That has a nice and bittersweet sound to it."

"This is great," Mugi added. "A nice yuri drama on the house. Hot, steamy, and fresh like a rose!"

Azusa could not believe what was going on. "Son of a...Mio-sempai and Mugi-sempai as well?"

Ui was mesmerized by the possibility and wanted to press the issue. "Ohh, Azunyan, you bad girl. You should've told me about this sooner."

"Auggghhh, fuck you all!" she screamed. "Shit!"

* * *

It took her 20 minutes for Ui to replace those strings. "There we go, good as new," she said, clutching Gitah in an embrace of relief. "That was fun, everyone."

"I hope you're not getting burned out just yet," Azusa replied.

"Yui would be beat if she tried to do this. She would fall on the floor—thump!—just like that."

"Well," Mio said, "since we got that done, we should go ahead and practice." She looked out the window. "The rain also stopped too, so it feels-"

Ui's ears perked up. "You serious? It stopped? Cool; now we can head home without seeing it kick up again!"

"But what about practice?" Azusa whined.

"Unless you are from the Japan Meteorological Agency and are 100% confident that there is a zero percent probability of it raining for the rest of the day, I'm not going to take any chances and run the risk of Gitah and me getting wet again!"

"Oh god, there you go with Gitah again."

"I knew it! I knew you were jealous of my baby right here." Ui hugged Azusa, sparkling. "Don't worry my little kitty, you're still very precious to me."

Azusa shrunk in deadly fear, gasping yet again. This definitely got out of hand in a hurry. In any case, practice had to be cancelled.

Sure enough, the rain fell after Ui made the mad dash back home, safe and dry. She decided to make some tea as Yui read some manga in the living room. "Still muggy outside," she said.

"In other news," the news anchor said as the TV went on the air, "lightning caused a car to explode into pieces, killing the driver instantly. Flowers are being placed at the spot where he turned into a small clump of ashes. Kenjo Arakawa has the latest on this tragic story..."

Ui noticed that Yui had left her unfinished dumpling out in the open from two days ago. "Ugh, it's all moldy now." She quickly threw the food in the trash bin, wrapped it up and tossed it in the container outside after breaking out an umbrella. "Hey Yui," she said to her younger sister, still reading her book, "I have some tea here for you."

"Thanks, onee-chan," Yui replied. "You are the best."

Ui noticed that Yui had some green spots on her face. "Oh my god, there is mold on you! Did you eat that dumpling that was on the counter?"

"Ehhh, what are you talking about, onee-chan?"

"Around your mouth, it's all..."

"I bought some takoyaki from the Famima earlier today. I think the seaweed is stuck to my teeth." Yui rubbed her teeth to check for anything sticking out.

"Ohhhh, so that explains it. I was fearful for my life, you know," she said as she set the tea down. "Don't scare me like that."

"Awww, you don't have to worry about a thing, onee-chan, I'm all right."

"And use a toothbrush next time."

"Right, right."

Ui looked at the weather outside the window, frowning. "Man, I don't think this storm is going to let up. This rainy season better end soon."

"You know, I like rainy days," Yui said, listening to some more AC/DC on her iPod while reading her book. Across from her was Gitah. Ui was planning to study a few more chords and techniques "I can relax like this all day, reading manga, drinking tea, and fawning over Gitah."

"Well, keep in mind that Gitah is mine, not yours. Yours is Hiro."

Yui pouted. "I know, Onee-chan, I know." Ui smiled. "But I'm a bit envious."

"You are, huh?"

"Onee-chan, you seem to be happy ever since you started playing Gitah."

"Have I?" She had to giggle the flattering remark coming from Yui. "I suppose so." Ui went over to Gitah and stroked it. "It's the reason for my happiness after all. But you know something?"

"What's that, onee-chan?"

"I sometimes wonder if I can really play well. I'm someone that sets high expectations for myself, and at times I say in the back on my head, that's not good enough, that's not good enough, that's not good enough; I won't make Budokan playing like this. So I want to answer this question by improving on what I can do as a musician. It really gets me motivated, Yui."

"I see. I think you will get there, onee-chan. They say the longest journey begins with the smallest step, right?"

"You know your maxims. I'm impressed." Yui chuckled in triumph. She had impressed her older sister. "And there are times where I get anxious and feel sorry for Gitah because I'm terrible at playing it."

"I think I saw on Wikipedia Johnny Ramone telling somebody, 'Look, we suck. You don't have to be talented; just go out there and play.' Something like that."

"Hmmm, that's right. He did say that one time. But anyway, my hope and wish is that we can be happy together, no matter what may come between us. Let me play something here." She chose to strum a few chords.

"Oh, I know this one," Yui said. "This is 'Ride on.'" Together they both sang as the evening passed.

* * *

_It's another lonely evening_

_And another lonely town_

_But I ain't too young to worry_

_And I ain't too old to cry_

_When a woman gets me down_

_Got another empty bottle_

_And another empty bed_

_Ain't too young to admit it_

_And I'm not too old to lie_

_I'm just another empty head_

_That's why I'm lonely_

_I'm so lonely_

_But I know what I'm gonna do -_

_I'm gonna ride on_

_Ride on_

_Ride on, standing on the edge of the road_

_Ride on, thumb in the air_

_Ride on, one of these days I'm gonna_

_Ride on, change my evil ways_

_Till then I'll just keep riding on_

_Broke another promise_

_And I broke another heart_

_But I ain't too young to realize_

_That I ain't too old to try_

_Try to get back to the start_

_And it's another red light nightmare_

_Another red light street_

_And I ain't too old to hurry_

_Cause I ain't too old to die_

_But I sure am hard to beat_

_But I'm lonely_

_Lord I'm lonely_

_What am I gonna do -_

_Ride on_

_Ride on, got myself a one-way ticket_

_Ride on_

_Ride on, going the wrong way_

_Ride on, gonna change my evil ways_

_Ride on, one of these days_

_One of these days_

_Ride on_

_Ride on_

_I'm gonna ride on_

_Ride on, looking for a truck_

_Ride on_

_Ride on, keep on riding_

_Riding on and on and on and on_

_Gonna have myself a good time_

_Ohhh yeah_

_Ride ride ride_

_One of these days_

_One of these days..._

As if by coincidence, Ritsu, Mio, Tsumugi and Azusa were all listening to the same song at the same time. Ritsu was busy checking out the latest issue of Rolling Stone. Mio was doing the business in the local blogospheres. Tsumugi was waiting for the next train home and Azusa was at her room full of books and records, performing routine maintenance on her Mustang. They all looked on as the rain continued to roll through the Kanto plains, hoping that it will pass, as King Solomon once predicted in an era long ago and far away.

* * *

The next rainy day, Yui looked up and saw that the storm continued to pass by overhead. "This one's gonna go on for a while. Bleh."

"Don't worry about a thing, I got it all figured out," Ui said. Yui turned and saw Gitah in his case, covered by an oversized plastic wrap and tape. "Ta-da! This should do it."

"Whoa. Onee-chan, that seems to be a vast improvement. Awesome!"

"Now all we can hope is that no cars splash in my direction so I won't have to give them the Railgun treatment, and we'll be fine, Yui."

"Or irresponsible pet owners. Or kids stepping in puddles."

"Yes, yes, you're right." And so they went.

Azusa couldn't believe it. "What the hell are you doing, Ui-sempai?"

"You know something, guys?" Ui said to the others back at the music room during the meeting. "I'm having an adventure peeling this off." She was busy removing the duct tape that bound the protection made up entirely of unused blue saran wrap.

"You sure are," Ritsu said.

"No kidding," Mio deadpanned. "You bloody overdid it."

Tsumugi was sympathetic. "Oh my."

* * *

It took Ui 10 minutes to get it off before putting the case aside and whipping that Gibson Les Paul known as Gitah out. The good thing about it was that there was no mold on the fret board, nor was there any rust on the strings. Well, they were newly replaced, so it wasn't like there was any rust to begin with. "I finally got the baby out," Ui said in her Solid Snake impersonation. "Mission accomplished."

"Roger that," Mio said with her Fender Jazz Precision bass now on, "but you need to get the actual cover. I was able to get mine's yesterday after checking the site in between blogging sessions."

"Allowance won't come in until next week, so no go."

"Ahhh."

"I suppose Japan's climate isn't very suitable for these instruments due to the humidity," Azusa said, her Fender Mustang now on.

Mio agreed. "Could you believe that?"

"After doing some online research, I found that if your guitar neck absorbs moisture, it can warp, and this affects tuning. Hence, the desiccant."

"I see what you did there," Ui noted. She pointed to her head and rolled her eyes upwards as if she was talking to her brain. "Voice inside my head, make it a priority to buy two extra guitar cases, extra desiccant, a wall hanger in the shape of a heart, two finger stretchers, the rhythm for sleeping CD and a six-pack of Bawls."

"Way to note your shopping list-wait a minute, did you say Bawls?"

"Yes, I just said Bawls."

"Talk about hardcore," Mio and Azusa said to each other before laughing. Ui scratched head in wonderment.

"Anyway," Azusa said, going on, "you can tell if you have problems by checking through octave tuning, like this." She demonstrated by playing an G note on the third string, then playing the same note one octave higher on the same string.

Ui meant to find out. "Let's see what happens." She played the same note on the same string. "Hmmm, looks like it's a half of a half of a half of a step off the mark." Azusa and Mio looked at each other in surprise. That also meant that the plastic wrap didn't do its job properly. The plan failed. "In short, an eighth-step off the mark."

"Unbelievable. You can tell without using a tuner?"

"Tuners? I don't need no stinking tuners. I thought you knew this."

"Wait, I remember you telling me that you don't use tuners when we were at band camp last year..." Her memory was right on the spot. "Yeah, apparently I forgot. Sorry." Ton-chan swam lazily in his tank, watching Azusa check Ui's Gibson as she held her Fender. "Holy cow, she's right. This is off by an eighth."

"Well, can you fix it?

"You're going to have to fix it yourself," Mio said, scowling.

"Bleh, that's no fun. Come on Azusa, just show us, for the sake of doing so."

"So you do know how to do it?"

"I just wanted Azunyan to do it for me, just this once."

The twin-tailed one sighed. "Fine, I'll go ahead and do it just this once. Sheesh, I suppose I've got no choice."

"Hey, if you're going to lead our club next year, you're gonna have to teach the new members how to do so as a reminder, all right."

"I know the deal, I know the deal."

"That's our Azunyan." She proceeded to tune the guitar back into shape. After that, Ui would go on to tune Gitah for the rest of her life.

"Damn, this rain won't quit," Ritsu said, bummed out beyond belief, twiddling a stick to pass the time. "We must be in the middle of a Pacific typhoon or something."

"No, it's not quitting," Azusa replied as Ui gave her guitar a shine. "And you're probably right regarding the typhoon."

"The wind's picking up, too," Mio added.

Tsumugi admitted as much. "Oh dear. And you know what, guys? The people at the JMA said it's going to rain yet again tomorrow, so we must be in the middle of some tropical storm."

"I think it would be wise to leave my bass here tonight." She placed her Fender Jazz Precision by the bookshelves.

"How cruel of you, Mio!" an enraged Ui exclaimed, surprising her as she was close.

"What...what are you doing?"

Ui went over to Mio's bass, in tears over the implied act of disownership, sniffling a bit. "Poor Elizabeth. Being abandoned like that...what a waste."

"I'm leaving it here so that this doesn't get wet!" Mio shot back, annoyed by the misunderstanding of it all. "And on top of all that, don't give it a name!"

"How about you leave your guitar here too?" Ritsu suggested.

Azusa concurred with the opinion of her drumming compatriot to her left. "Ritsu-sempai's right, you know. You should," she said, "especially now that the plastic cover looks like trash."

They all turned to the mess of shredded blue plastic and beige duct tape lying on a table in the corner and shuddered.

Ui agreed. "I suppose you're right." She placed Gitah next to Elizabeth, to her right. "All right Gitah, listen up. I'm going to leave you here for the night because this storm is becoming a ravenous bitch, and I don't want you to get wet anymore. If a stranger comes and talks to you, I want you to avoid him or her."

With a drop coming down, Mio couldn't believe that Ui was treating Gitah as if it was a man, and as if he had a soul. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"And Elizabeth, you're going to spend the night together with Gitah. Be nice to each other and enjoy each other's company, all right?"

"I told you, quit giving it a name!"

Azusa knew what Ui was doing here, "It's a bass, so that's why her name is Elizabeth." The name Elizabeth sounds like the phrase "it's a bass." Thus, it all made sense. She elected to think this further. "Then, the name for my Mustang would be...Muttan." It sounded unusual, but those were the names of the three stringed guitars. Azusa had Muttan. Mio had Elizabeth, and Ui had Gitah.

"That's actually a perfect-sounding name!" Tsumugi said, surprising Azusa from behind.

"The hell it is! Quit reading my mind, you psychic socialite!" she exclaimed, flailing.

"Really? But you were talking out loud." Azusa froze. Yes, she was. She christened Muttan Mustang on that Stormy May Day down in Sakuragaoka in front of a group of five young witnesses in the music room in the third floor of the main building. Well, seven if one were to count Elizabeth Precision and Gitah Sunburst. But the cat leaped out of the bag on its way to MacArthur Park melting in the dark, and someone must have left the cake out in the rain. Azusa chose to put Muttan to Elizabeth's left, opposite Gitah.

"Bloody heck, it's continuing to pour," Ritsu said, watching the nimbostratus cry heaven's tears across the megalopolis.

"Man, this is gonna soak our shoes," Azusa replied.

"I knew that leaving my bass behind was the right move after all," Mio chimed.

A lone snail crept across the bushes of the school, savoring the precipitation and the shower he was getting.

"All right guys, we'll see you all tomorrow," Ui said, saying farewell to the other four as she went on her way, disappointed that she would be without her guitar again.

"Take care, Ui-sempai," Azusa replied.

Tsumugi wished her well. "See you."

"All right," Mio said to her.

"Be safe on your way home," Ritsu advised.

"Oh Gitah, I'm so worried about you," Ui said, staggering across the street. "Don't let me be this way anymore..."

"Hold on a bit!" Mugi exclaimed, coming out to assist her.

"Ui-sempai, that's dangerous!" Azusa said, rushing to her senior's aid.

"But this is what my sister would do," Ui replied.

"That doesn't matter; it's still dangerous!"

"Man, she gets soaked even when she doesn't even carry her guitar," Ritsu said to Mio.

"Or maybe it's because she is acting it out in this sense, who knows," she replied. "But you have to admit that she really does take good care of her guitar."

"But to a very different degree. She does it to the point that she chose to give her guitar and your bass a soul."

"I look at it this way. Ui is overreacting—albeit in a staged way—about having to leave it behind for just one day."

"That's one way to look at it." Ritsu looked at her with another of her sadistic intentions. Here it came. "But who are you to say that?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Remember when you came crying to me when your bass got scratched for the first time?"

"Oh yeah. I remember when I cried you name and you asked where it was scratched. I said, 'Right here, at the top of the body.' I remember it well." She snapped back to your senses. "But if you mention that one more fucking time, I will give you a headbump the size of Mount Fuji, you scumbag!"

"Aha~~~." Good ol' Ritsu Tainaka.

Back at the Hirasawa house, Ui was writing on her journal in her bedroom, but she was doing so in a state of melancholy. She stretched, internalizing all that happened. "And that takes care of my homework," Ui said, a feeling of accomplishment flowing through her head. "I hope no one took out Gitah from the room when I come back tomorrow. Hopefully the storm will be gone by then."

She could hear a grating noise in the room next to her. "Sweet Butter Jesus; what the hell is that?" Ui's bedroom had a lone lamplight, a plush bear, a plush rabbit, other types of plushies, and a flower vase, among her orange and green striped trappings. "Is that a burglar coming in?" Those grating noises were starting to get intimidating, and she needed to figure out what it was all about. There was a chance that it had to be Yui. A good chance. If it was a thief, she could blow him to pieces with her attack. Either way, Ui needed to know. She was starting to get intensity of it all, and there was no turning back now. It wasn't a thief. It was her. "Yui!" She ran over to a disconsolate younger sister, in tears.

"I'm hearing some grating noises, it must..." It was just her scratching the wall like a cat to a post. "Hey, wait a minute. What the hell are you doing?

She slowly turned to her. "Onee-chan..." "Why are you scratching the wall?"

Yui was in distress. She felt like she wanted to die, but Ui needed to know why as Yui fell into her arms helplessly. "Onee-chan! This world sucks when Gitah is not in the house!" Apparently, Yui wanted to play with Gitah that evening, but she couldn't stomach the news.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I only left him at the school because it was raining, and I don't want him wet." She could feel Yui rubbing against her cleavage lovingly through her tears. She had to admit that in spite of the incestuous tendencies, it did feel sinfully good. "Hey, I think the rain is going to leave tomorrow, and I will have him here for you to play with."

"That's so wrong, onee-chan! I want to play with him now!"

"Give it time, Yui. Give it time." Yui continued to sob as Ui looked at the wall of pictures of her, Yui, her friends, Gitah, Elizabeth, Muttan, and curious here and there. For Yui, it was hard for her to internalize the reality that nothing is for certain, the fact that not everything will go according to plan. As Ui consoled her younger sister in her darkest hour, she hoped that King Solomon's words rang true, that it would pass and that everyone she knew would ride on, and ride out the storm, which continued to go on into the night.

Yui gasped in shock as the thunder and lightning came. "I can't take this crap anymore!" she screamed, trying to pry the window open. "I'm going to go save him for you!"

"No, you don't need to!" Ui said, holding her back. So much for the sinful bliss. "Gitah will be fine, we're on the second floor, it's raining outside, and you're still in your pajamas!" It was a futile attempt at doing so. Yui Hirasawa was that desperate to make her and Ui happy. And Gitah, too.

* * *

The rainstorm continued to pass as all five of them reunited the next day at Class 3-2. "So you guys were only separated for one night," Ritsu said. "Was Yui making that much of a deal over it?"

"She was, and I couldn't believe that she did," Ui replied, holding Gitah again. "She was kicking and screaming, grating the wall and stuff. I had to console her. She became, I think, 10, maybe 11 years younger."

"Is that so...well, at least you're feeling quite good."

"You bet I am."

"So your guitar is THAT precious to you, huh?" Miss Sawako said to Ui, arms crossed with a satisfied look to her face.

"That's right, Miss Sawako," she replied with a nod.

"I can see that. But I believe you would be wise to put it away while we're having homeroom."

"Oh, don't mind me. We'll just keep riding on." The others in class laughed and applauded. Himeko had a smug look to her face.

"But I do mind!"

"Awww, Miss Sawako, have a heart and cut me some slack. I thought you were going to do so this time around."

"I can't, though! I'm trying to do my job here, you see." So the comedy went on.

Mio looked on, wondering if Elizabeth was all right upstairs. Later on after class, she checked to make sure her bass guitar was fine, making the mad dash up the stairs. She opened the door, and there she was. Azusa already took Muttan with her to her home room. "There you are," she said, walking over to her bass. "I think Ui worried so much about hers, and that made me worried as well." Mio remembered Ritsu's warning about the possibility that the fret board may have been covered in mold. But was it really covered? Or was she at it again with her stupid rumors forged on brain explosions that had been her calling card ever since she was a grade school brat?

Mio zipped open the case and was relieved to see Elizabeth in perfect condition. "Oh thank god." There was no mold, no rust, and no scratches. It looked amazing just the way it was, and it was amazing just the way it was. She hugged it, smiling through her closed eyes. "Elizabeth, you are my strength, my sword and my shield, and I will protect you with my life. This is my vow, this is my promise to you, now and forever. May God bless the two of us." It was this promise and a commitment that Mio chose to live by and die by for the rest of her life.

Mio realized something, and turned. From top to bottom, Ritsu, Ui and Tsumugi were looking at her with pleased looks on their faces.

"The bells must ring for the two of you!" Ritsu exclaimed.

"This brought a tear to my eye, you guys," Ui said.

"I do have money to fund them a flight to Vegas and a commitment ceremony," Mugi added. "I think we should do it."

"We should, we should."

Mio shrieked. "Gyaaaaaaaaaaaah! What the hell are you perverted jackasses doing down over there?" Mio shot back at them. "Can't you see we're enjoying our private moment down here? Dammit!" She realized the hard way that that it just takes the antics of at least one eavesdropping soul to ruin a private moment between two hearts. In this case, it was one, two, three. An all-academic paparazzi triangle.

Later that day, to the relief of all at Sakuragaoka, the storm passed by the city and made its way to Russia and Alaska, where it withered into light winds that offered nothing but peace and calm to a troubled world.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 6**


	7. Little Lover

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 7:**

**Little Lover

* * *

**

The storm that had passed through Tokyo gave way to a few clouds and light winds against a peacefully clear blue sky. For Sakuragaoka Girls High student council president Jun Suzuki, it was a time for her to relax after a meeting with club leaders regarding the appropriation of funds for various student projects for the freshmen, sophomores and seniors involved. Some initiatives were voted down, others were voting against it, still others were tabled until the next meeting. It was all part of the process.

That was how the story went for Jun as she proceeded to procure some books for sorting after the meeting. She chose to do this out of her own free will because of her intention to go above and beyond the call of duty for her school. Plus, the jazz club had already adjourned, and there wasn't much else to do. As she sorted the next stack of volumes, she noticed a card.

"Hmmm, I wonder what this could be?" she asked to herself, now donning her summer uniform with the rest of the students. It was a red card with Mio Akiyama's likeness on it. Jun raised her eyebrows for a bit as she nodded. "Obligations are obligations. If I don't fulfill them, life might as well take me away." The wind blew across her hair as she came to terms with Mio's popularity across the school. They all remembered The Incident. They still remember how she embarrassed herself by tripping on her wires but winning the hearts of her peers by doing so. It was a memory that would endure for quite some time.

Megumi Sokabe, who began the club, was a good friend of Jun. She told Jun personally why she wanted to start up the fan club, which grew significantly large and had members at all three levels. Jun wondered how Megumi was doing in her travels, but at the same time she knew at the back of her mind how she was doing. She was doing just fine.

And so she chose to write a letter. "Dear Sokabe-sempai, how are you doing?" Jun said to herself, writing her own words on her own paper with her own stylus as she went her own way. "Today, I write this letter because there is something important I want you to know..."

As for Mio, she was a calm, reflective figure as she walked down the hall. At least she wouldn't have to worry about any more storms for now. But what no one expected was a storm coming in the form of a congregation of students following closely behind. She wondered what was going on and looked over her shoulder, inquiring on the details.

"Hey Mio, what's up?" Ui Hirasawa asked Mio, a relaxed Ritsu Tainaka and Tsumugi Kotobuki following her.

"Eh?"

"You seem a bit nervous today. What's going on?"

She had to shake it off. "No, I feel like somebody's been watching me since this morning."

"I like that song by Rockwell, for your information."

"I think this is because Mio-chan is popular," Tsumugi said.

"I don't think it's because of that," Mio replied in fear. "I think...it's because someone is, like, spying on me..."

The other three crowded on her. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh?"

Sweatdrop began to form on Mio's head. "What the hell are your idiots doing?" That got the attention of a couple of seniors who walked by, observing the spectacle before retiring back to their homeroom in Class 3-1. "Quit it already!"

"Anyway, aren't you just being a bit paranoid with all this, though?" Ritsu asked.

"No, seriously, as of right now, it feels like there is something watching me from somewhere. I'm not kidding."

Ritsu noticed somebody approaching them. Apparently Mio wasn't kidding. Mugi and Ui noticed it as well.

"So who is it?" Miss Sawako Yamanaka asked, covering Mio's eyes. It was her.

"It's Sawa-chan," the others said.

She uncovered them and saw her turn to stone. "Eh? What happened?"

"You just turned Mio to stone, Miss Sawako," Ui commented. "You must have magical powers."

"I guess I do."

Ton-chan floated around like the lazy skinny-dipping turtle he was, snacking on some pellets in the music room as Azusa Nakano fell in with the rest of the team over pumpkin pie and Earl Grey. Ui looked at him with a smile to her face and a look of confidence. "Hmmm," Sawako said to Mio, "So let me get this straight. You feel like someone has been watching you, right?"

"Exactly," Mio replied.

"Well, I put it this way. I'm always being stared at by everyone, though, and I don't mind!"

"That's because Sawa-chan's outward appearance is nice and friendly after all," Ritsu replied smugly.

"What the hell do you mean by 'outward appearance', huh?"

"You mean to tell me that the culprit following Mio all this time has been you, Sawa-chan?"

She leaned over. "Please. I will be honest with you: if it was me, I wouldn't just stop at looking."

"I suppose you're right." They laughed.

"If you were to ask Yui the question," Ui pointed out. "She would suggest that it would be Ton-chan."

"Hmmm? Why do you suggest that?"

"That's because Mio is afraid of Ton-chan and doesn't really care for him. Furthermore, Yui would suggest that Ton-chan clung to Mio's back."

Mio frantically scratched her back in fear as Mugi laughed. "Scary, scary, scary!" She immediately came to her senses and realized that they didn't have a clue as to what the heck was going on. Mio was going to need to find this out on her own. But she also admitted that the others were going to tag along eventually because that was their nature.

"Look guys, this is a really big deal," a concerned Azusa said, "and we need to treat it as a really big deal! I mean, there may be an actual stalker at this school that is targeting her at this moment!"

"Azusa..."

"I think the mystery has been solved..." Tsumugi said as the others turned to her. "The culprit is...you!" She was pointing to the would-be suspect that would come through the door. "I do apologize. I've always wanted to say that line at least once in my life." A cultured student, Tsumugi Kotobuki loved those mystery novels and shows. "But, mind you, what I said about the mystery being solved is true." She turned to her bassist partner-in-crime to her left. "Mio-chan, you had yakisoba bread from Yamadaya for breakfast today, didn't you?"

"Y...yes, I did. I overslept this morning and didn't have time to eat a proper breakfast at home."

She was on to something. "And that yakisoba bread was 20 percent off wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was. How do you know that?"

Mugi giggled as she took her seat, and then took a label that got stuck to her hair. "It's because of this."

Mio took a closer look. "Holy cow, you're absolutely right!" It was originally 180 yen, but with the discount, it was only 144 yen. "It was 20% off!"

"Seems to me that was stuck in your hair for the entire day," Sawako said with a fist to her hand.

Mio was disgusted. "So that's what everyone was looking at!"

"You mean to tell me that you've been a billboard the past few hours, thus causing people to come down to Yamadaya to send the yakisoba bread flying off the shelves with nothing in sight by the end of the afternoon?" Ui deduced.

"Not to mention failing to keep your hair clean," Ritsu added. "You really did oversleep after all."

"Hey, what are you guys up to?" Jun said, walking in with a couple of freshmen stumbling forward. That got their attention.

"Hey Jun, who the hell are these two people?" Mio asked.

"Well..."

"We aren't anyone suspicious, honest!" one of them said.

"We are members of the Mio-sempai fan club!" the other added.

"The fan club?" Jun asked. She remembered the card. "Ohhh."

Mio laid her head on the table. She had a feeling of déjà vu all over again. Or was that déjà blue? As in blue and white stripes? "Son of a fucking bitch, I was trying to leave that shit behind me..."

Ui looked at the others, bemused. "Uh oh."

"Did you two come here to see the sticker that was stuck on Mio-chan's hair?" Tsumugi asked.

"Yes we did; we heard it from the other members of the club," said one of the two freshmen.

Sawako questioned the logic. "So if you are a fan, why didn't you tell her immediately?"

"Well, here's the thing," the freshman with the brown hair said, "I said it would be better if we told her, but..."

"...but to have something like that stuck in her hair is just like her character and is fantastic!" added her peer with the black hair.

"They are well-versed in the moe phenomenon and the attributes that go with it," Ui said to the others.

Ritsu dissected the observation in her head. "Hmmmm. Fantastic, you say?"

"You know something? I actually thought Mio stuck that sticker to her hair on purpose."

"You knew it was there all this time?" an enraged Mio shot back. "Then why the hell didn't you take it off before we had homeroom, you jackass?"

Ui pouted. "My bad."

* * *

"Guys, I do have to apologize," Jun said as she stopped for a sip, "because I didn't do my job very well."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Ritsu wondered. "Why do you need to apologize?"

"I am personally surprised that the fan club is still around," Ui said, leaning on Ritsu's shoulder for emphasis.

"I know, right?" Mugi remarked. "I personally thought that it would have disbanded after Sokabe-sempai graduated from the school."

"Who's Sokabe-sempai?" Azusa asked the others.

"Oh, you don't know who she is?" Ritsu asked.

"She's Megumi Sokabe, one of Mio's biggest fans and the founder of Mio's fan club," Ui explained. "She was also the club's first president."

"Yep, and I guess it's been that long since that happened," Ritsu reflected.

"That long?" Azusa needed to know.

"Just before the graduation ceremony in March," she explained, "something happened. Mio felt like she was being watched and was scared for her life. As I left the classroom, I opened the door and wondered what was going on. She was really scared. I asked Mio to talk to the student council about this."

"I see, so that's what this was all about."

Mio had a more realistic view of the circumstance. "Hey you idiot, keep your fantasies to yourself, okay?" she said sternly to Ritsu.

Azusa blinked. "Eh?"

"I decided to take this matter into my own hands without anyone suggesting I should, because no one was treating this like it was a big deal, so I went to the student council. Jun asked me, 'This is interesting. You feel like there is someone spying on you?' and I said, 'Yeah.' She then said, 'Maybe it's a stalker. But you know something? It's difficult to imagine a trespasser at this school because we have pretty good security down here.' I was in tears. She asked why I was in tears, and I said, 'I'm just relieved that I got a normal reaction from you.' That's what happened. She then asked me, 'What reaction did you get from the Light Music Club?' I was still crying. And then I saw someone asking for Jun, and it was Sokabe-sempai bringing in some transfer documents. She introduced me to her. 'I knew that someone from the Light Music Club wouldn't know me by name,' she said. I had to apologize."

Ritsu kept it going. "And thus, that was the fateful encounter, but Mio at the time knew nothing about what fate would await them."

"Quit it with your cheesy narrating, you Voice of the Heavens-obsessed fangirl!"

Azusa inquired. "So, what kind of fate would await them?"

Mio sighed. "Well, if you need to know...Sokabe-sempai treated me to green tea. 'This is not as good as the stuff from the Light Music Club's, but it will do,' she said. I told her I didn't mind one bit as I took a sip. So we talked. 'Regardless, anything that involves a stalker is a really serious problem,' she concluded. She was stroking her hair while saying this, and I was starting to feel uneasy. 'Suzuki, could you inform the disciplinary committee of this, please?' she asked. 'Roger that,' Jun replied. For me, this was becoming a bit too much. Flailing, I said, 'You don't need to go that far for me!' Sokabe-sempai said, 'It's all right; we believe it's our duty as Student Council members to help a troubled student at our school.' I needed Ritsu to hear this, apparently. Jun then said, 'But what sort of person would follow Mio around?' Sokabe-sempai suggested, 'Maybe...fan club members?' That just embarrassed me.

"I was at a loss for words as the sun began to set. 'What's wrong?' Sokabe-sempai asked, tilting her head to the side. 'It's nothing,' I said. 'It's just that you know a lot about the Light Music Club and you even know my name.' That surprised her quite a bit. Jun also noticed something unusual, 'Actually, I realized that you also knew about the Light Music Club's tea time.' She was trapped in a corner. 'Actually, didn't you tell me about that before, Suzuki?' she asked Jun. 'Don't believe so,' she replied with a frown. 'Oh really?' Sokabe-sempai wondered, clasping her hands. Now she was really trapped. 'But the Light Music Club sure is famous in a lot of ways.' Jun and I looked at her with suspicion. 'Well, I think I have to go now. See you!' She ended up dropping something. 'Sempai, you dropped something!' Jun said. It was a Mio Akiyama Fan Club member card.

"Sokabe-sempai grabbed it, and said, 'I picked this up in the hall a while ago.' Jun replied, 'But it's got your name on it...' I had to say something and smooth the uneasiness over. I had a slight feeling she was the one behind all of this. But at the same time, Sokabe-sempai would be denying this allegation, and we would all laugh. 'Maybe the stalking culprit was the president after all!' I said. Sokabe-sempai dropped the card as it spun to the ground. 'I didn't mean to do any harm!' she exclaimed, the truth coming out. But both of us were shocked to hear the truth coming from her. Why the heck was Sokabe-sempai the one stalking me all this time? 'I'm going to graduate soon, right?' she asked the two of us. 'And when I realized I wouldn't be able to see Akiyama anymore, I just couldn't bear it!' I went over to her. 'It's all right,' I said. 'Huh?' she asked. 'I'm happy that you think that much of me,' I explained. 'I will say it's a bit embarrassing, though.' She was mesmerized. 'Akiyama-san...' Jun took a look at the card. 'Club member number one,' she read. 'And I'm also the fan club president,' Sokabe-sempai added. But I was shocked. 'Holy cow,' Jun said as I fell over."

"So the president was the culprit, huh?" Azusa asked.

"I suppose it was difficult for her to confess with her position on the club and council, wasn't it?" Sawako thought

"No doubt about it," Jun replied.

"Ah, now that I remember, we wondered if there is anything we can do for Sokabe-sempai," Ui said.

Mio agreed. "Yes, so this is what we did. We decided to perform a private concert for Jun and Sokabe-sempai. They both came to the auditorium. 'You think they're planning to get back at me?' Sokabe-sempai asked. 'That's not their nature,' Jun said in assurance. The curtain raised, and all of us, minus Azusa, we on stage. 'Sokabe-sempai, congratulations on your graduation!' we all said. I was a bit nervous, but I said, 'We, the members of the Sakuragaoka High School Light Music Club, would like to give you a performance in celebration of your achievement. Please listen!' And she did, as we played 'Fuwa Fuwa Time,' and she was mesmerized. Jun tried to snap her out of her entranced state, shaking her a bit. After a while, she said, 'How could you use the auditorium without permission? is what I would say...' We did use it with permission, by the way. She went on. 'Thank you, everyone. This is the first time I've received such a gift.' We all high-fived each other on staged. 'She smiled; we did our job!' Ui said to me. 'That's what we're talkin' about!' Ritsu said to Mugi. 'You betcha!' she replied. 'So in commemoration,' Sokabe-sempai said, as we turned to her, 'please sign this! And write, From Mio-tan!' She was holding a shikishi board. Jun put a palm to her forehead, her image of Sokabe-sempai taking a huge hit."

"Well, Mio-tan, did you write it?" Azusa asked in a hushed voice with a smug grin to her face, sipping her tea from her pink kitty cup.

"I did."

"And Sokabe-sempai was very happy about it," Jun added. "Take a look at this, Azusa." She procured the card.

"The fuck? A number one fan club member ID?" she exclaimed.

"And this has Jun's name on it, huh?" Mio wondered.

"As a matter of fact," Jun added, "after that performance, she told me to take over the fan club presidency as well. Now I am a part of two clubs: jazz and the Council. So to include this one was extra weight on my shoulders to say the least. 'I-don't-want -it!' I told her. Nonetheless, I gave in. I'm just waiting for one of the freshmen to cover for me. So to conclude, I haven't has the chance to fulfill any of the president's roles..."

"Poor Jun," Ui said sympathetically.

"So, I decided to come down here with a request. For the sake of the girls in the fan club, could you host a tea party for them?"

"A tea party, huh?" Tsumugi asked.

"Correct. If this goes on, I'll feel real bad for Sokabe-sempai because so far, I haven't fulfilled my role in filling her shoes yet."

"This looks fun," Ui said, sparkling. "All right. We'll go ahead and do this for you!"

Mio blinked. "Eh?"

Ritsu was also in on this, sparkling as well. "We're always getting help from Jun after all, so I am in!"

"Ehhh?" She paled.

Tsumugi was also sparkling. "Since we've already decided, what type of tea party should we do?"

"You too, Mugi?"

"I guess we'll have to do this*, since it's a done deal," Azusa added.

"Um, wait a minute, you guys, calm down here..." Mio was stunned to see the rest of the club rush headfirst into all of this.

"We can't leave out the cake, for starters," Ui said. "That's what makes a tea party a tea party."

"Right, right," Ritsu agreed. "We should also add flower bouquets and a photo album!"

Mio shriveled. "What is this, a reception?"

"Let's also add a little Q&A corner," Mugi suggested.

"Good idea!" Ui replied, bubbly. "Let's throw that in." Mio was traumatized, not for the suggestion coming in, but for the fact that they weren't listening to her at all as they scribbled down a provisional schedule of events for the tea party.

"All right, I will leave the preparations for the tea party to all of you," Jun said. "This is going to take a lot of slack off of me. As for me, I will organize the meeting place and the announcements."

"I've got dibs on the poster design!" Azusa chimed.

"I'm going to tell the chefs at my house to design an extra large cake for this event!" Tsumugi added.

"Dammit Mugi, you're going way over the top for this one!" Mio complained as Jun smiled.

"No worries," Ritsu said. "We got you covered!"

"The hell all of you do!" But Jun knew that with the Light Music Club pitching in, this tea party would be a rousing success. She looked to the sun setting over the Kanto plains, her confidence and motivation the reason behind her renewed vigor. The event would take place in two days' time.

* * *

A few posters could be seen outside and inside the campus the next day, advertising the upcoming tea party and all that jazz. "And so we are putting the pieces together," Jun said to the members of the light music club, "without hesitation, without regrets."

"Today, we have an excellent selection of material for Mio's supporters," Ui said to the others upstairs at the music room. "We have stickers, pencils, erasers, tissues, chocolate, bottle openers, chopsticks, and a few back scratchers for good measure. Priced from 100 to 500 yen, depending on the item. Makes for good business."

"Quit selling weird items, you jackass!" Mio exclaimed, embarrassed beyond belief.

"What are you talking about? All I did was place stickers on them with your face on it."

"Simple, but cute and effective," Tsumugi added, nodding.

Mio bowed her head. "Do you really think anyone would be happy getting that?"

"Ui also baked some cookies, too," Jun added.

"That I did, that I did," she replied, laughing triumphantly. "500 yen for a bag of Mio Cookies." Mio sighed, wondering if this circus had gone a bit too far.

Azusa laid a sympathetic smile at her. "Hey Ritsu-sempai, shouldn't you say something like 'How much should the entrance fee be'?"

"The hell?" Ritsu replied defensively, annoyed. "Are you kidding me? Saying bullshit like that makes me look like a miser!"

"That's because you are?"

"Oh, fuck you!" Azusa had to chuckle after one-upping her headband-rocking friend.

"I just won the game, Ritsu-sempai," she replied with an impish grin. "Truth hurts, man." Ritsu pouted.

Someone knocked on the door. "Come on in," Ui said. It was the two freshmen again.

"Excuse us," said the one with the brown hair. "We brought some snacks."

"Ooooh, excellent."

"We hope you enjoy them," her black-haired friend said as they presented the group with a bag.

"Here you go," the other one said.

"Thank you," Ui replied, accepting the offer of goodwill and empty carbs as the others gathered around, save for Mio. "Hey, it's the yakisoba bread from Yamadaya!"

"And there's some tea as well," Tsumugi added.

Mio joined the others.

"I'd like to snack on some of this," Ui chimed.

"Boy, you sure are quick!" Azusa replied, bewildered.

"Guys, thanks," Mio said to the freshmen.

"No problem," the brown-haired one said, bowing. "We're looking forward to the tea party!"

"Excuse us!" the other one added, bowing as they both headed back to class.

"Thanks, both of you. Those two are nice of them aren't they?" Ui said to Ritsu.

"Yes, they are."

"They are so cute!" Mugi replied, hands on her warm cheeks. She liked them young.

"I'm so stoked that everyone is looking forward to this one," Jun said. "This is going to be a rousing success."

"So is Sokabe-sempai coming to this one too?" Ritsu asked.

"Well, to be honest with you...she graduated, so she most likely will be here in spirit only."

"What, she's not coming?" Azusa exclaimed, surprised as Jun sat down for tea before tea.

"I wrote a letter to her," Jun explained, "but she told me that she is on a business trip with her club from college that day and can't come."

"That's a drag," Ui replied, snacking on some cake.

Azusa took her seat. "Then what's the point of having all this?" she asked Ritsu.

"Can't she just change her schedule for this?" Mugi wondered.

"Well," Jun noted, "she told me that because it's already been announced, there's no need to change the schedule at this moment."

"Awww, well that isn't good," Azusa replied disappointingly.

Jun went on. "Sokabe-sempai's wish is to let this fan club continue, to let it grow and flourish. She said that she would be satisfied in letting the present fan club members enjoy the tea party you all set up."

"A typical opinion from someone going through her freshman year in college," Ui said to the others as she worked on her dessert and a few sips.

"That's a very good analogy," Tsumugi noted.

"Well thank you, Mugi. I am honored."

"Any time."

"So if she's graduated and become an adult," Ritsu asked, "does that mean she's also graduated from being a Mio fan?"

"Ritsu-sempai," Azusa answered, "I don't think she will ever graduate from something like that. She loves Mio too much to move on. Besides, I'm sure that her schedules conflicted at the last moment and she has no other choice!"

"Azusa has a point," Jun added. "It could be that she didn't want to make us fuss over her not being here."

Mio looked at the yakisoba bread, lying next to a bottle of Oi Ocha. She reflected on when she would graduate, in March of 2011, and wondered if she would follow the same mindset her #1 fan had. It was a bittersweet thought.

Ritsu narrated the cause. "Deep inside Mio's heart, the memories of the happy days she spent with her friends resounded like a siren, like a mermaid crossing the ocean blue, gracefully underwater, never to be forgotten."

"I told you, quit putting in your weird narration!" Mio shot back with a drop on her head.

"Eh-hah!"

A nonplussed Azusa looked on as Ritsu squealed like a mouse. "She's right, you know." Damn right.

"With that said," Jun concluded, "I think we'll go ahead and proceed according to the schedule and program without any changes. This looks good, too." The others nodded.

* * *

"All right guys, here's the day's schedule of events," Mugi said, handing off leaflets to the rest of the group. "Ricchan and Ui-chan will be the hosts."

"Yes, ma'am!" they said, saluting. Mio was working on her yakisoba bread, but pondered about doing something extra for everyone at the meeting.

"I like the design," Ritsu added.

"When everyone is seated," Jun said to Mugi, "we will have you and Azusa serve cake for everyone in attendance. 15 minutes afterwards, we will proceed with the official opening of the ceremony, as well as introductions. Our goal is to make this simple and informal. A casual get together, if you will."

"This is good," Mio said to herself, savoring the yakisoba bread.

"So, ladies," Jun went on, "I need to confirm something before we set the room up for the event. Will it be held in this room?"

"That's correct," Ui replied.

"Very well. I think we are on our way, and we can go ahead and get this done." All systems go.

* * *

The following day, the music room was reserved for a special event, and all members of Mio's fan club plus other interested students were invited. It was a packed house, and all invitees came enthusiastically.

As the masses made their way to their seats at the various tables in the room, Ritsu stepped up to the microphone. "Hello everyone, my name is Ritsu Tainaka, president of the Sakuragaoka High School Light Music Club, and drummer for the club's band, Hokago Tea Time," she said. "I want thank each and every one of you for taking some of your valuable time to come to the Mio Akiyama Fan Club tea party." Applause rung throughout the room, as well as a few cheers and whistles.

"I forgot my rice bowl; I lost the game!" one smart-alecky freshman fan said as the others laughed at her.

"Once again, I am Ritsu, your co-host, along with Ui Hirasawa, our lead guitarist."

"Hey, hey, hey, you guys!" Ui said. "My name is Ui."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all!" they both said, posing with handclaps all around.

"Whoa, we have a packed house here today," Azusa said to Jun and Tsumugi. "This is looking real good."

"I see plenty of familiar faces here and there," Jun added, checking her schedule. She noticed one of them with green twin braids. "Holy cow, that's Yoko Sasaki! She's a member of the fan club, too, huh? How about that." Yoko was looking as a back scratcher she purchased for 450 yen, while her good friend Tae Kikuchi showed her a bottle opener she bought for 350 yen.

"I always have this type of outlook toward things," Ritsu said to the masses, who were chatting amongst themselves while the freshmen looked on enthusiastically. "Life will have its ups and downs like a rollercoaster ride, and then it will suddenly appear in front of you! It makes you think, Whoa! What the heck did I just do just now? I got drunk with all the hot chicas and hombres, I'm having my way with them and I'm still single!"

"A fact for my headband-rocking amiga to my left," Ui replied. "The Great Ricchanski applies that to weddings. It's living the Japanese Dream: you marry, you divorce, you marry again, repeat, repeat, repeat, until you become a withering old crone that has gone through 20 failed marriages in your life. You should be given an order of the Rising Sun for seeing your love life set twenty times. Could you believe that?" They were all laughing. "Of course, I've yet to experience that, so I'm still fresh."

"You mean," Ritsu said, clutching Ui's hands while changing her pitch to a more masculine variety, "WE'RE still fresh." They were about to kiss, the collective anxiety of the guests accelerating rapidly before she turned back to the microphone. "Well, that takes care of that comedy routine. Let's get this Mio Akiyama fan club tea party started, shall we?" They all roared in approval.

"Let's bring out the guest of honor, the woman of the hour," Ui chimed. "Here she is...Mio Akiyama!" Mio opened the door and walked to the front, a composed character entrenched in melancholy, still wondering why she had to go through this. Her fans cheered and clapped their hands as she passed through the tables.

"Isn't Mio awesome?" Ui asked Sawako.

She was pouting through pursed lips. "But wearing the school uniform is boring."

"But see, we wanted to keep it simple. Nothing pretentious."

"Still, it would have been nice to see her stripes again. Hmph."

"Don't worry, both of you," Ritsu replied jovially. "We got a change of dress on the way!"

At last, Mio made her way to the front. "Not gonna happen!" she said, annoyed by the mere suggestion.

The three of them pouted. "Ehhh? Well that's no fun!"

"Sisters..." She turned to the crowd. "Anyway, thank you all for gathering here today..." She accidentally bit her tongue in the middle of her speech.

"Oh no! She bit her tongue!" one freshman said.

"That characteristic is..." another added. "that characteristic is...!"

"So cute!' another said.

"They like it," Ui said to Ritsu and Sawako with a thumbs-up. Ritsu stuck a dirty glare to Sawako, who just shrugged her shoulders.

Mio tried it one more time. "Thank you for gathering here today and celebrat-ack!" She bit her tongue again. "Itagaki..Taisuke?" And they were all lapping it up.

Ritsu's dirty glare was now fixated on the fans at the tables. "Seems they love it more than the comedy opener we had to start," Ui observed. Sawako nodded.

"You're not kidding," Ritsu replied.

"We'll go ahead and leave the speech at that, we'll proceed with the cake-cutting ceremony!" Ui said as Ritsu took the microphone away from the stage. Tsumugi brought in a five-tiered cake fit for a wedding, decked with strawberries and big enough to feed all in attendance three times over. "All right Mio, since you're the woman of the hour, go right ahead and do the honors!"

"Um...okay...but who's gonna help me out?" Mio asked to Ui, who was offstage.

"We'll have Azunyan help you out!"

Azunyan was shocked and froze. "Ehhh?" She had never done anything like this before and was placed on the spot by Ui. Nonetheless, they both put on a brave face and cut the first piece, to the snaps of the cell phone cameras and the applause of the faithful. Mugi and Jun lapped in up, while Ritsu, Ui and Sawako high-fived each other. Soon after, everyone at the tables got their share, and not a single crumb, piece of fruit or dollop of frosting was left unconsumed.

"With that out of the way," Ui said, "we'll be serving the tea and cake for you. This was specially made by the kitchen chefs at the house of our club keyboardist, Tsumugi Kotobuki, so give her a round of applause for providing the refreshments today." As they did, Mugi did the honors with pouring the Earl Grey over a specially-made set that was formerly used by the Dutch royalty three years ago, and was purchased at a bargain. The freshmen wore green ribbons, the sophomores red, and the seniors light blue. "And Mio will also be lighting the candles at each table." With the lighter, Mio carefully made her way at each table, lighting them all.

"Mio-sempai, over here!" Azusa said, waving to her across the room. Apparently, she missed one. But it was clear Mio was getting a bit exhausted.

"Here as well!" Mugi added, waving. A correction: she missed two. It was really clear now that she was getting overwhelmed.

Finally, Mio had lit all of the candles before heading back on stage with Ui and Ritsu, and the tea party continued. "Now with that done," Ritsu said, "it's time for us to move on to our special event of these proceedings. This is the 'Hundred Questions for Mio Akiyama' session."

Ui honked a bike horn for emphasis. "This is how we're going to do it," she explained, going over the rules. "With each answered question, please blow out a candle on the table."

"Exactly. So, for the first question, what's the scariest story you've heard?" Ritsu asked Mio.

"Huh? What sort of stuff are you asking?" Mio answered in shock.

"Question Number 2," Ui said, leaning over like a ballet dance, "what the second scariest story you've heard?"

She was shocked and couldn't find the words. "Gyaaahhh!"

Ritsu's turn as she followed suit with Ui's pose. "Question Number 3, what's the third scariest story you know?"

It was obvious Mio was not getting the point behind this, nor did she want to answer the questions. "Stop it already!" This had turned into an interrogation session in Kampuchea gone wrong.

"Question Number 4, what's the fourth scariest story you know?" Ui asked.

"Gyaaahhh!"

"Question Number 5, what is the fifth scariest story you know?" Ritsu asked.

"The fifth scariest is also the first, second, third and fourth scariest!" Mio confessed.

"One Hundred Supernatural Tales?" Sawako wondered. Well, that would be a hint as to how Mio would answer those questions, wouldn't it?

95 more to go. But everybody was mesmerized by how Mio was struggling to get the words out. "Good luck!" one of the seniors in Class 3-3 said ardently.

"Okay," Ui said, "we have 95 more questions to go, it's your turn. It's time for you to ask Mio Akiyama a question."

"Fire away, folks!" Ritsu exclaimed. This was going to be a gauntlet.

"What's the first part you wash when you take a bath?" an enthused freshman said.

"A sh...shower head," Mio replied hesitantly.

"She's talking about bathroom cleaning?" a shocked Azusa said.

"Do you eat a taiyaki from the head or from the tail end?" a sophomore from Class 2-4 asked.

"From the gills," Mio said, sweating.

"Where the hell is that?" Azusa asked, a hand to her chin in disbelief. That's near the face of the head, sweetie. In short, the center.

There were 93 more questions, and this was how they went, regardless of class rank.

* * *

Q8. What is the name of your bass?

A. Elizabeth.

Q9. Why do you wear striped panties

A. I like...the way they make me feel.

Q10. How many cities have you been to in Japan?

A. Three.

Q11. What are you three sizes?

A. 91-56-91. (A lie.)

Q12. What's your favorite baseball team?

A. Giants.

Q13. What's your favorite soccer team?

A. Urawa.

Q14. Do you like your ramen spicy or mild.

A. Mild.

Q15. Are you into pageants?

A. No.

Q16. What's your birthday?

A. January 15.

Q17. What's your favorite university?

A. Tokyo U.

Q18. What's your second favorite university?

A. Meiji.

Q19. What's your third favorite university?

A. Keio.

Q20. What's your fourth favorite university?

A. Waseda.

Q21. What's your fifth favorite university?

A. Kyoto U.

Q22. What are your favorite colors?

A. Blue and white.

Q23. Who is your favorite actress?

A. Yoko Hikasa.

Q24. Who likes to annoy you the most?

A. Ritsu. (To which the crowd laughed and Ritsu got a headbump)

Q25. If you could be any senshi from Sailor Moon, who would it be?

A. Mars. She's got similar hair.

Q26. If there was one country you could visit, what would it be?

A. America.

Q27. If there was one city you could visit, what would it be?

A. Paris.

Q28. What do you like in a boy?

A. Good-looking, nice, just doesn't become pushy in what he does, I guess.

Q29. How many taiyaki have you eaten in your life?

A. Um, I'd say 50.

Q30. Chelsea or Arsenal?

A. I'll go with Chelsea.

Q31. Hot dogs or hamburgers?

A. Neither. But I'll go with hot dogs, if you want me to answer your question.

Q32. Do you like your chicken fried or grilled.

A. Grilled. I don't like grease.

Q33. Do you like cute things?

A. Yes, I do. (To which the crowd cheered.)

Q34. Will you marry me?

A. I'll have to think about that, with the current laws.

Q35. Summer or winter?

A. Summer.

Q36. Spring or fall?

A. Spring.

Q37. Why do you like playing the bass?

A. The bass player is in the background, and I pretty much like that role.

Q38. Are you ambidextrous?

A. I'm a lefty, so...no.

Q39. Do you like cowboy hats?

A. They look cool, so...yeah.

Q40. Do you like mudkips? (To which the crowd laughed.)

A. I'm not a Pokémon addict, so I don't know I would answer that question. I guess that would be no.

Q41. Do you like your chili with or without beans?

A. I've never eaten chili before, but I would try it without beans first and see how it tastes.

Q42. Do you like yakisoba bread?

A. Yes, and apparently I had some yesterday. Real good.

Q43. Are you a Justin Bieber fan?

A. I prefer mainstream J-Pop, so, no.

Q44. When the Incident first occurred, how were you feeling?

A. Real terrible. I'm trying to get that off my mind.

Q45. Which American baseball team do you like?

A. New York Yankees.

Q46. Can you help me out with my homework?

A. After this is over, I'll go ahead and see what I can do.

Q47. Have you heard that the bird is the word?

A. Yes. Yes, I did. However, that Trashmen song gets annoying after a while. (To which the crowd laughed.)

Q48. If you had one magical power, what would it be?

A. To fly anywhere I want to go, without getting killed.

Q49. Who is the hardest working member in your band?

A. Azusa. She is a no-nonsense type of person. But Ui also up there, too.

Q50. Who is the least-hardest working member in your band?

A. Ritsu. Easily. (To which Ritsu replied, "Oh come on now!")

Q51. What's your favorite fruit?

A. Strawberry.

Q52. Who's your favorite recording company?

A. Pony Canyon.

Q53. Who's your favorite manga author?

A. Kakifly.

Q54. Who's your favorite NBA basketball team.

A. I'm going to have to go with the Lakers.

Q55. Milk tea or green tea.

A. Milk tea. Although I don't mind green tea, either.

Q56. What's your favorite Pocky flavor?

A. Gotta go with the original—chocolate!

Q57. What's your height?

A. Last time I checked...160.

Q58. What's your weight?

A. Oh wow, like you have to be concerned about that...54.

Q59. Do you have a dakimakura in your home?

A. Y...yes. (To which the crowd cheered.)

Q60. When you sleep, do you use your dakimakura, or is it a bit more normal when you sleep?

A. A bit of both.

Q61. Another sleeping question: do you sleep with your pants on or off?

A. Depends on the season and how hot my room is.

Q62. Can you do that Moe Moe Kyun thing with the heart hands? (To which Ritsu said, "Do it! Do it!")

A. Okay. Moe, moe...KYUN! (The crowd cheered.)

Q63. What's the name of the turtle you keep in the room?

A. His name is Ton-chan. We put him in the storage room so that we can have this tea party.

Q64. If there was a gold medal you wanted to win at the Olympic Games in, what would it be?

A. Ladies' 200 meters.

Q64. What type of bass is your bass, Mio-sempai?

A. A Fender Jazz Precision.

Q65. Do you regret any bad things you've done in your life?

A. Good question. While there are better choices that I could have made, I believe in moving on and putting the past behind me.

Q66. If you could give birth to a child, would it be a girl or a boy?

A. I want it to be a girl.

Q67. Would she attend Sakuragaoka.

A. *laughs* You guys are looking way too far into the future for me. Of course she would. It's my school, it will be her school.

Q68. If your child was a boy, what school would he attend?

A. He would still attend Sakuragaoka...just the boys' campus.

Q69. When was the last time you ever had naughty thoughts creep up?

A. Senior field trip. (To which the seniors laughed.)

Q70. Were they that naughty?

A. Yes, they were THAT mean-spirited.

Q71. If you were to be stuck on a tropical island and you only had three possessions to work with, what would they be?

A. A bottle, a message to put in a bottle...and Ritsu. (To which Ritsu said, "Hey! Since when was I a possession?")

Q72. Do you win friends with salad?

A. No, you don't.

Q73. If there was only other instrument you wanted to play besides the bass, what would it be, and why?

A. Keyboard. It just sounds fascinating.

Q74. There's been talk of you and Ritsu as a pair?

A. And you expect us to say yes, right? (To which Ritsu said, "I don't care; you can say yes if you want to.") Fine, that's a yes. (To which Ritsu replied while in a state of shock, "Holy cow, she actually did it?")

Q75. Baseball or softball?

A. Softball.

Q76. Paper or plastic?

A. Plastic.

Q77. Rolling Stones or Beatles?

A. Beatles.

Q78. Which of the Hirasawa sisters do you like?

A. Ui. She knows what she has to do. But she sometimes goes over the top a bit too much.

Q79. Who do you think will dominate the London 2012 Olympics?

A. I'm going to go with the USA, but China is going to be a problem, too.

Q80. Where do you think Japan will finish at the 2012 Olympics?

A. Eighth, based on total golds won.

Q81. Do you think your opinion of our founder, Sokabe-sempai, has changed at all, now that our fan club has grown to this many people?

A. No, I think she is a good person, and a very loyal fan. I will go on for the record that she had guts to do what she did. If it wasn't for her, this all wouldn't have been possible.

Q82. What's your favorite sport?

A. Football. Not the American kind. The round kind.

Q83. Why don't you like scary stories?

A. Because that's what they are. I'm not good with them AT ALL.

Q84. Chicken or beef?

A. I'll take chicken, thank you very much.

Q85. If there was ever a point in your life where you could turn back time, when would you turn it to?

A. To when I tripped and fell during the School Festival in my freshman year. But this would not be happening, so it goes both ways.

Q86. Kimonos or yukatas?

A. I like a yukata because it's easier to move around in.

Q87. Have you ever been to a cemetery?

A. No, I haven't! (Mio said this while cowering in fear.)

Q88. Asahi, Sapporo or Kirin?

A. I don't drink beer, so neither of them.

Q89. What's your favorite manga magazine?

A. Manga Time Kirara.

Q90. Have you ever worn thighhigh stockings?

A. I've heard of them, but I haven't yet.

Q91. Liberal Democratic Party or Democratic Party of Japan?

A. Democratic Party of Japan...for now.

Q92. Have you ever thought about playing at Budokan in the future?

A. That is part of our goal as a band...to make it to Budokan and perform for our fans.

Q93. Are you at the top of the class in terms of grades?

A. I am.

Q94. Besides playing bass, what do you for a hobby?

A. I write and do photography.

Q95. Did you ever wish you could go on a world tour one day?

A. It would be nice, but I want to focus on school first.

Q96. What is the biggest memory you will take from the senior trip?

A. I guess seeing all those monkeys would be the one. That's tied for getting lost on our way back to the hotel. Ritsu...(To which Ritsu said, "What? What did I do?")

Q97. If you graduate, do you think we should continue this club? Why or why not?

A. Very good question. I think you should if you feel that it is your choice. I think you shouldn't if you feel that it isn't in your best interest. In the end, I'm just an ordinary girl doing extraordinary things for my beyond-ordinary fans.

Q98. If there was one person who you wanted to meet in your life, who would it be?

A. President Barack Obama. But I want to meet Obama-sama in Obama. There's a city in Fukui Prefecture with his name on it.

Q99. What's your favorite hard rock band of all time, if you were to choose one from random?

A. AC/DC.

Q100. Are you tired of all these questions?

A. More than tired, and Ritsu, isn't that Question Number 100?

* * *

"You are absolutely right," Ritsu said as the candles were blown out, "and I want to thank every one of you for your participation. With that said, let's move on to the next event of the day!" Mio had already paled out, tired from answering 100 questions. The important thing to take from the whole ordeal was that the fans were treated to a candid side of Mio that was her fans knew about.

"In this segment—and thank you for your questions—we want to present a photo slideshow," Ui said, "looking at the first half of Mio's life. Take a look; you'll love it."

"But at 17, I'm already halfway through my life," she thought to herself. Only if you plan to live to 34, Mio. Only if you plan to live to 34. The lights went down, Ui gave the signal, and pictures were projected on a screen.

"I always wondered why Mio was the way she was," said Ritsu in the slideshow as a narration. "Here was this soft-spoken, shy girl from my neighborhood, and I said to myself, there's something about her that I really like. She likes to pick on me every time because we live so close to each other, and I tend to get on her nerves every day. I still do.

"Sometimes she has to catch up with me whenever we go run a race or go up a hill. Other times she is the shoulder I have to cry on, or the person that keeps my feet on the ground with a stern look on her face. But that's one thing about Mio that makes her the best friend I could ever have. It's easy for her to be humble because she is. And I dig that."

"My gosh, she is so cute!" said one of the sophomores.

"She has grown up a lot," Yoko said admittedly.

Ritsu continued on with her narrative. "You know, we went to a lot of places. And I mean a LOT of place. Whether it was the amusement park, deep in heart of the city, or way out in the countryside, Mio and I were there. Whenever there was fun to be had, or memories to be shared, we were there. I had to show her that there was more to it that just being stuck in your own burrow. When you get out of it, and flourish in the sun, it's always a great feeling. Mio was a person that learned to enjoy what life offered. She still is that way."

"Hey Ritsu-sempai, it seems like the pictures are more about you than of Mio-sempai," Azusa said to Ritsu on her observations backstage.

"That's cause they're the photos from my album!" she replied triumphantly, pointing to herself with her thumb.

Disgusted, a sweatdrop came from her head. "Fucking attention hog."

Mio snapped out of her funk and turned around to take a look at the pictures that were unfolding.

So Ritsu's narrative continued. "We came to Sakuragaoka Girls' High together after we passed the entrance exam to get here. Mio had to prod me to do well, and I admit, I had to get up for her early study sessions because both of us were cramming all the concepts we could to get to this school. We knew how prestigious this place was. I didn't know if I would be able to join her, but once I found out that I would, it was the best day of my life. I looked at all the clubs that were going around, and Mio wanted to join the Literature Club. However, knowing that she was playing bass and I was playing drums, and that we were doing relatively well for our skill level, I had other plans.

"I knew that the Light Music Club had gone on hiatus after its members graduated, and I knew that they went on to form a really good metal band called Death Devil. We didn't want to follow necessarily in their footsteps, but we wanted something to work with. The great thing about Mio is that she doesn't complain too much about something. Over time, she accepts the bigger picture surrounding whatever we need to do. So it was no surprise that she chose to restart the Light Music Club with me. I am the president, and Mio is the vice-president. Hokago Tea Time started with us, an idea, and a dream: to perform for our fans at Budokan."

Mio continued to gaze at the slides, and remembered everything that happened up to now.

Ritsu's narrative went on. "We brought in Tsumugi Kotobuki, a socialite from the suburbs and the daughter of one of the richest businessmen in the country, as our keyboardist. We literally stole her from the choir, and we didn't give her back. We needed one more guitarist to confirm the whole deal, and that was Ui Hirasawa. This was our lineup for our first year. And it wasn't too long that an unfortunate accident during the School Festival fueled the fires for Mio's fan club—that, of course, if you guys—to be formed. But as a band and as a club, we continue to make a reputation for ourselves as Sakuragaoka's Sweetest Sound, and Mio plays a huge role in making this possible.

"We go to retreats every summer, because we feel it's important that we bond as one. We tried to get other members to join in, but we were only able to get one last year. She is our second guitarist, Azusa Nakano. Going back to Mio, I think one of the most interesting qualities about Mio is her bust. I mean, it's huge! I could spend the night with my head between it. I mean, I would have to be blind, stupid, and possibly dead to not want a handful of tits that big." The whole congregation laughed.

"Ritsu~~~!" an embarrassed Mio shouted. She had to giggle as Mio continued to look at the photos in her collection.

The narrative continued again. "When Azusa joined the band, we already were making it big as a four-piece group, but when we saw what the freshman at the time could do, we felt we stumbled upon someone special. Azusa told me how important Mio was in making her feel welcome, how important she was in making her feel like was part of the team since we first began. She has that older sister feel to her. In fact, even though they aren't related by blood, they really do look, think and feel like sisters. The similarities are endless!"

Mio continued to look onward, her mind drenched in the memory of everything that happened up until this point.

Ritsu began to conclude the narrative. "Tomorrow will come, and there will be a time when you will graduate from this school with other memories to share, other people to meet, other places to go and a diploma in your hand. But I want you to always keep this in mind: Mio Akiyama is just like you. She's an ordinary person doing extraordinary things on her own terms in her own special way. She may have her flaws and her shortcomings, but we all do. What distinguishes her from all others is that she can turn those negatives into positives. If there was ever something that she won from the game of life, it would be your hearts, and your support. Mio is special to me, she is special to you...she is special to all of us. We have a little bit of Mio Akiyama in us. And I don't think she would want it any other way."

Mio smiled, hearing those words of honesty and taking it all in stride. "No, I wouldn't," she whispered softly. "I wouldn't at all."

The crowd applauded as Ritsu took the stage. "So with the tea party nearing its end, our band Hokago Tea Time, will perform..."

"Wait a minute!" Mio interrupted. "There is something that I want everyone to hear. This is a poem about me and Ritsu, since someone asked me about us. Well, a few of you did. Here it goes."

"Oooh, it's a surprise!" Ritsu exclaimed. "And it has to deal with the two of us! Wait...what?"

She read the poem.

* * *

_i get so frustrated_

_when i see you_

_walking next to me and saying_

_hey shall we do some amazing stuff_

_at your house after practice_

_i become a volcano_

_ready to erupt_

_at any moment_

_at any time_

_show no mercy you say_

_i won't_

_you have yourself a deal_

_you fool_

_i still get frustrated_

_when i think about it_

_you give me such a hard time_

_i hate you_

_some weeks later_

_you come into class_

_you say hello_

_and i the first thing i say is_

_where the hell is your headband_

_and you said_

_i left it at home today_

_i wanted to try a new style_

_that is all_

_is there a problem_

_i blush and say_

_no not really_

_you just smile and say_

_i see you are being honest_

_are you stupid_

_of course i am being honest_

_and i think_

_you look_

_cute without that headband_

_i do you ask_

_pause_

_another pause_

_and i said_

_yes_

_there was no one else to see us_

_and you came over_

_and my lips tasted sweet_

_like honey_

_it made my day_

_oh my god_

_help me i feel like_

_i died and saw my reward_

_for just being a good girl_

_i said i need to savor this more_

_it went on for an hour_

_two hours_

_till we had given out_

_lying in each others arms_

_as the afternoon gave way to_

_a long hot summer night_

_the next day i see you_

_and my heart sank_

_like the titanic_

_you had that headband back on_

_why oh god why why why why_

_i was crying_

_i blabbered how could this happen to me_

_give me my happiness back i screamed_

_give it back_

_give it back_

_give it back_

_i was sobbing_

_holding my knees in a corner_

_and you came_

_and threw that gaudy ornament_

_into the trash bin_

_i could hear it meet it end_

_and you fell into my arms_

_tears of despair become tears of joy_

_when there is a rainbow after the storm_

_it shines on me_

_and on you_

_when the yellow band is off_

_i love you so much_

_that it makes me happy_

_to be helpless and weak_

_and protected by a tomboy's touch_

_tonight

* * *

_

"Oh my, that was so touching!" said one freshman, applauding.

"Really cute!" another said.

"Awwww," replied a third.

"Sawa-chan, was that a lovey-dovey poem?" Ritsu asked Sawako.

"I think it was."

"For real?"

"I never knew Mio was that in love with Ricchan," Tsumugi said. "To be that deep, even!"

"Good job, Mio," Ui said. "Azunyan, are you all right?"

Her nose started to bleed a little. "I'm all right. I'm okay."

Ritsu nodded to Ui, who nodded back. "And with that..."

"...we'll start our performance!"

"We have a new song for you composed by everyone in this band."

"It's called 'Pure Pure Heart'!"

"Time for you guys to have a listen!" Tsumugi pushed the chair aside and wheeled in the drum set. It was time to get down to business. A little flourish of the piano from Mugi, and the number was in business as the rest of the students outside heard the magic unfold.

* * *

_Inside my head the only thing there is you._

_Sometimes I think that it will overflow soon._

_So I put on my headphones and then let the music flow._

_(DON'T STOP THE MUSIC)_

_I'll you tell the truth when I want something_

_I'll you tell the truth when I need something_

_But there are some things I can't say the truth to you about._

_(CAN'T STOP MY HEART BEAT)_

_Then suddenly!_

_I have a chance. I had no clue that you lived on the same street._

_So couldn't this be!_

_The perfect timing._

_My heart keeps on growing,_

_bigger then a balloon,_

_I think that it's going to explode soon!_

_Riding on the wind, my heart is flying,_

_off to where you are._

_My pure pure heart flies off to you._

_I hope that you will accept my feelings._

_Fly away again, I'm flying_

_To where ever you may be._

_Walking home on the same street as you,_

_But you walk on the other side,_

_I DON'T MIND!

* * *

_

As the ceremony winded down, it was time for a group photo of Mio with her fan club of 20 strong. It was an awkward situation for her to be in, but it was her last act of duty as their idol, so to speak.

"All right everyone, are y'all ready?" Ui said, getting ready to take a shot with her mobile. "Say cheese!" With one snap, and a few presses, the image was sent to the mobiles of all who were in attendance.

"Right over here, next," Ritsu said, taking more shots. As a matter of fact, this was going to go to every cell phone owned by every student on campus.

"Over here," Tsumugi said, taking a few more shots to accelerate the circulation. The three of them went at it for a while. Mio was wondering how much longer this was going to last. She didn't care; she wanted to go home.

"Guys, you're moving a bit too closer to Mio; give her some space! Thank you."

Thus, the tea party was placed in the history books, and Mio's place as one of Sakuragaoka's most loved students was secured.

"I think we did our job," Azusa said to Jun with a smile.

"That we did, that we did," she replied, grinning. "I really wanted Sokabe-sempai to see this as well. It's a bit bittersweet, don't you think?"

"That reminds me of something, hold on." Azusa produced her mobile phone.

"What are you planning to do by taking a shot?"

"We're gonna send a shot of this to her," Azusa explained.

"Bleh, I should have known. You don't know her number, though."

"Do you have it from the student council?"

"Oh yeah, I do." Jun produced a book with the listing of students from last year's student council. "Here's her number. I don't know if it still works, though, but give it a shot."

Azusa took a look, then took a shot of the group before punching in some numbers and hitting the send button. "Message sent," she said triumphantly. "And it didn't bounce back, either."

"Cool. That means she didn't change her number. Hopefully this message finds you well, Sokabe-sempai..."

* * *

As the afternoon began to die down and the music room was configured back to its original arrangement, Megumi Sokabe was in Seoul, on a foreign exchange. She was enrolled at Waseda and was part of a exchange student program with Seoul National University. She was doing relatively well for her first semester as a Sodai student, with straight A's all around.

"Hey, I'm going to go buy a drink, and I'll be back, all right?" one of her fellow club members said to her.

"All right. Be back soon," she reminded. At that moment, Megumi's phone rang. She picked it up, and checked her message. As soon as she saw the message, Megumi a smile as big as a statue with a blush as deep as a rose. "So it looks like I received another wonderful gift."

The statue Megumi was sitting next to pointed in the direction of Tokyo, the city where Mio Akiyama acknowledged her fame, her popularity, and her immortality amongst her ardent followers at Sakuragaoka. The winds of change were blowing indeed, and doves of freedom were flying across the skies.

Yes indeed, to the contrary of those who thought otherwise, Megumi Sokabe was there. She was there in spirit, and she earned a gift that would motivate her to become one of the top students at Waseda. Megumi would go on to make the Dean's list, as well as go on to untold academic successes in whatever field she chose to commit herself to, so the story goes.

"May God bless that Mio Akiyama, " Megumi whispered to the heavens. "She is our angel."

Jun completed her letter, saying, "Sokabe-sempai, we hope you will visit next time. We can't wait to welcome you back with open arms. If you do, it will definitely be another enjoyable tea party, and an unforgettable one at that. I promise you. Yours, Jun Suzuki."

* * *

**END CHAPTER 7**

A/N Fandub of "Pure Pure Heart" by Ichigo_m of IchiChanProductions on YouTube. The poem is actually a piece I wrote on deviantART (under my handle, Bongaboi), called "tainaka tomboy tonight."

This chapter is dedicated to both Mio Akiyama's successful 2010 International Saimoe League and 2010 Anizone Best Moe Tournament campaigns. Congratulations to those of you who voted for the Dangerous Queen in her campaigns. This one is for you.


	8. Shot Down In Flames

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 8:**

**Shot Down In Flames

* * *

**

Ui Hirasawa always kept a journal with her. When she was just five years old, and in kindergarten, her mother gave her a large book to write her thoughts, the world around her. It started with seeing different objects, different people, and different activities. Whenever she wasn't cleaning the house or doing any chores or cooking anything or studying, Ui wrote on her journal the goings-on, the memories of the past and the present, and the future plans.

That one volume grew to ten by the time she was in her senior year at Sakuragaoka, and she was beginning her work the tenth volume, flipping through her past anecdotes, her past scribbles and jottings, her past visions and dreams. She was a girl with visions and dreams, Ui Hirasawa was, and sometimes she pictured them as she wrote them, the images and blissfulness dancing in her brain, the tragedy and heartbreak, the compassion and the understanding.

And so her recent entry went as follows:

* * *

_Dear journal,_

_Today I browsed through the very first pages of the first volume of my archives to relive some of the moments of my childhood. To think that Mio and Ritsu live a football pitch length from each other and to realize that Mugi is part-Finnish is a memorable thought. Her mother is from Helsinki, while her dad is Japanese. It's an eclectic mix._

_Anyway, I recall a time when me and Yui were in elementary school. Yui is my younger sister, the best in the world, and the only one for me. So at the school, I watched her sing to a turtle that our teacher owned. "Hello, hello, Mr. Turtle," she sang, touching his head as he shrunk back into his shell. "Nothing in the world walks as slowly as you. Why are you so slow?" She smiled, and I looked on, smiling. And then I headed with the others._

_Nodoka, Yui's best came over and wanted to talk with Yui, "Yui-chan! Hurry up already!"_

_"Oh, Nodoka-chan!"_

_"Look, we're gonna leave you behind on the walk." She was pointing to the others ahead of them._

_"Hey, wait up!" Nodoka was dragging Yui back to the rest of the group. She ended up tripping a bit before getting back on her feet. She's so clumsy. The turtle walked on its own path without a worry in the world._

_She has a fascination for turtles, Yui does. Apparently it's rubbed off on me. I will call it an entry for now. _

_Signed, Ui Hirasawa._

* * *

Ui sighed, closed the journal and placed it on the shelves. In several hours, she would be back at it with the others.

Morning ensued, and Ui was handed a College/Career Inventory sheet, asking for her future plans. It was difficult for Ui because she had a lot of thoughts on her mind as to how she would go about this. Did she want to be a flight attendant? A police officer? A homemaker? And these were just three of a long list of job positions and possible university choices that was 10 pages long that she scribbled down.

Ui looked at the list, and visualized every role and every campus setting as she sat in her desk. Technically, she was capable of doing any job she set her mind to or attend any university in the list, but she was supposed to pick one job and one college. And it had to be compelling. This was going to be a doozy.

"What's up, Ui?" It was Jun Suzuki walking over to her.

"Hey Jun, how are you?"

"You got something on your mind?"

"Yeah." Well, wasn't it obvious?

"How big is it?"

"It transcends size. I'm thinking about what college and career I want to write."

"Oh. Hey, wait a minute." She thought this one over. "You haven't thought about it yet?"

"No, as a matter of fact, I am."

"Maybe you are putting a little too much thought into all of this. Everybody else submitted this a long time ago."

"I just like weighing the options," Ui admitted. "My personal Diet is in session."

"It may have to adjourn at this rate," Jun replied with a smirk and a sigh.

Ui smiled. "Bureaucracy...it's a wonderful thing, isn't it?"

"Well, think of something before your grade takes a bit of a tumble."

"Duly noted."

* * *

As Jun left to rejoin the others at the jazz club, Ui was left to mull over her options again for the longest time. "And so I say to myself, my head is stuck up in the clouds. Why is it? I wonder if I will ever get down from it." She alternated between looking at the list, the sheet, and the pages of a guide to the top 50 universities in the country. Closing her eyes, she visualized the scenarios and settings she would be in, carefully painting the picture with skillful precision and vividly crisp imagination. It was quite an adventure to kill time while making the most of it. Eventually, she decided to write something down: "Study at Harvard University and fail 10 times at getting a doctorate." Let's see what Miss Sawako thinks about this, she thought to herself with a smirk.

Jun was back from her meeting. "Are you sure you can get admitted to Harvard, let alone fail at getting a Ph.D. 10 straight times in your entire lifetime?"

"Who knows? But I would like to see what Miss Sawako's reaction was going to be."

"You know what her reaction will be, so why do you even bother?"

"Carpe diem."

"Ugh. You're something different; you know that, Ui Hirasawa?" Ui smiled at her. "Just as I thought."

It was time for her to turn the tables. "As for you, Jun, what did you put as your first preference?"

"I decided that I wanted to apply to three different national universities in Keio, Waseda and Nittaidai, even though it may have been a risky decision on my part."

"Nittaidai? So you want to be an athlete, huh?"

"Well, it's more like sports management. Playing on my jazz bass is a hobby, but to work with a baseball team, Little League, that sort of stuff...I want to get a good credential and get my degree there if I can."

"Hmmm. Actually, you know what?" She pulled out the list. "Take a look at this list I got here."

Jun took a look, and whistled. "So this is a list of jobs and schools in your crosshairs, and it's 10 pages long. You know, you can just get three from there, write it in, and submit it to Miss Sawako. There."

"But that's the problem, because I can't seem to make up my mind!"

"It's because you're thinking too much about this. You have to just take three items from the list and write them down and send it."

Ritsu Tainaka, coming back from buying some Calpis with Mio Akiyama and Tsumugi Kotobuki, walked over to the two of them. "Hey Ui, we're gonna be going back to practice right, so you better get going."

Mio grabbed Ui's paper, which was mostly blank. "You still haven't decided what you want to do in the future, Ui?"

"Not yet, because I am still thinking about it. Mio, what did you put down as your first choice?"

"I wanted to go ahead and get a recommendation first."

"I think that shouldn't be a problem," Jun said. "But you know what that means, right, Ui?"

"Getting someone who knows you to speak highly of you and suggest you to wherever you want to go." They all nodded.

"Correct."

"Hey Mugi, what did you decide to put on your sheet?"

"You heard of Japan Women's University?" Tsumugi asked Ui with a smile. "I think we went over this."

"Come to think about it, you were right." Ui flipped through some pages in her guide. "Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681."

"Wow," Ritsu said, "where'd you get that?"

"At the bookstore across from 10GIA. This is a guide to all the universities in the country."

"You can just get that information online, you know?"

"Yeah, but what if I'm stuck on some deserted island with no Internet access? I need something to fall back on."

Ritsu sighed. "As if you're gonna be stuck on a deserted island for the rest of your life!"

"That's pretty prestigious, isn't it?" Mio asked Tsumugi.

"Very. But the campus is beautiful, and it's just the way I want it."

"I think it's on my list," Ui said, glancing at her list of 10 pages. "Yep, it's on there."

"Quit looking at your list and think of something!" Jun said, pulling at Ui's shirt collar.

Ui moaned. "Iyaaaaah!" It was unclear as to whether or not she was getting an emotional high from all of it. "By the way, is it difficult to get to the place where Mugi is going?"

Mugi produced a book. "Here is a reference text. Take a look."

Ui read it, raising her eyebrows a little. "I think I can do this. But I don't know if this is what I really want."

"Let me see," Ritsu said. Her eyes were blinded. "Holy shit, it's written in English!"

"Too bright for you, Ricchan?"

"Fuck, my eyes, they burn, arrrgh!"

"Overt brightness confirmed. I have no problems reading this. For example, this says, 'Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring—when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children—black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics—will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!' No problem. And I can say all of Martin Luther King's speech without any issues."

Ritsu's eyes were still blinded. "You sure can!" Ui looked at the rest of the book, flipping through the pages while Tsumugi looked on with a smile. Mio and Jun were nonplussed at Ritsu's self-inflicted blindness.

"Face the music, Ritsu," Mio deadpanned.

"But this is Japan, there is no need for English!" she shot back, her fist in the air with her other arm around Ui. The xenophobe.

"No need," Ui added, her fist also in the air while in Yui-mode. "And this is what Yui would do. Her eyes would be blinded by this and she would be agreeing with Ricchan on this."

"It's only Japanese, that we will only live on!"

"Live on!" They both laughed in unison.

"Separated at birth?" Mio asked Jun and Tsumugi.

"You mean Yui-chan and Ricchan are," Mugi replied. "Ui-chan is only acting this out."

Jun snuck a dirty look at her blonde, half-Finnish friend. "Damn you, Mugi, you took the words out of my mouth!"

"By the way, Ritsu, if you fail English at school," Mio added, "you'll have to stay back a year, you know."

"Exactly," Ui said, pointing at Ritsu.

"For real?"

Ui gave the book back to Tsumugi. "Of course, this is for the entrance exam, so if you get good scores on the other subjects, you shouldn't have any problems. However, knowing you, Ui-chan," Tsumugi said, "you probably will pass them all anyway."

"Stay tuned," Ui said to the others.

"Take a look at the Japanese portion of this." Mugi handed the book back.

"Let's see here," Ui said, reading some more. "I think this will be a straightforward affair if I decide to participate in the entrance exam. This is classical literature. Ricchan, toss sweep, left side. Hut, hut, hike!"

She tossed the exam over to Ritsu, who spun around and took a glance at the text. "All right, for the next auxiliary verb, choose the world with similar usage."

"What will she think of this? Let us find out, soul sisters."

A few nods, and then Ritsu said proudly, "I haven't learned anything like this!"

"Fumble! And a turnover!"

"By the way," Mio commented, "the freshmen here at Sakuragaoka are supposed to know this by heart."

Ritsu froze, "That's...that's...that's...that's...that's...impossible!"

"Or so you thought, genius," Ui said, laughing like a yandere maniac thirsty for blood.

"Can I get my exam guide back?" Tsumugi asked. "Oh, but before that, I wanted to ask you this: didn't you learn about auxiliary verbs with a song? Somewhere along the lines of 'Lolly, lolly, lolly get your adverbs here'?"

"Hey, that's Schoolhouse Rock, that's my favorite to watch when I was young," Ui said. "They subbed them in Japanese though." She sung a little bit, "Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, get your adverbs here. Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, got some adverbs here. Come on down to Lolly's, get the adverbs here! You're going to need if you write or read, or even think about it..."

"So you really do remember it!" Mio remarked.

"It's fresh in my mind now thanks to you, Mugi."

Mugi giggled. "I haven't even heard of Schoolhouse Rock, but I heard of the song 'Jailhouse Rock' by Elvis," Ritsu said.

"Aw, hell!" Mio nearly fell over at the change in topic. "That's not what we're talking about here!"

"And thus, I turn to you," Ui said, turning to Ritsu. "What did you put down, Ricchan?"

"I went and said 'Undecided' because I don't have a single clue for my future," Ritsu said.

"Awww, that's a drag, no?" Ui said, opting to place 'Decline to State' as her choice.

"Are you sure you want to put 'Decline to State' as your answer?" Mio asked suspiciously.

"I need to ask the teacher if I can get some more time to make a decision," she explained.

"Something like a scrap of paper can't decide our future!" Ritsu added.

"No, I guess it can't!" They both laughed.

"Yui mode again," Jun said to the other two watching and nodding.

A voice ran over the loudspeakers. It was Miss Sawako Yamanaka. "Tainaka and Hirasawa of Class 3-2, please report to the staff room immediately, thank you." Ritsu turned in shock as Ui walked over to the office without any surprise to her face.

"That's what you thought, Ritsu," Mio deadpanned.

"Go to the club room ahead of us," Ui said. "We'll meet you shortly." Ritsu joined Ui on her way to the office.

"God, this is a drag," Ritsu moaned.

"She'd better get something submitted," Jun said to herself, "or this is not gonna look good for all of us."

"It must be tough, eh Jun?" Mio asked.

She laughed. "Sometimes it tends to be that way. But I think it's also the same for you too. When Ui makes decisions that have an indelible impact as this, she tends to take a lot of time to decide. So this doesn't surprise me that she has to be encouraged by Miss Sawako to come up with something."

"If Ritsu is serious about this, she would get this out of the way without a hitch."

"I've been with the Hirasawa family long enough to know that when they are concentrated and focused on how to approach something, they do it real well."

Tsumugi looked at the discussion between each Jun and Mio and pictured an older sister-younger sister relationship pair between Jun and Ui as well as Mio and Ritsu, though the latter seemed to be obvious. "Can we continue this conversation in the club room?"

Jun nodded. "Sure, why not."

Mio concurred. "Why are you so enthusiastic about this?"

"The direction this conversation is going is something I like," Mugi replied, "but probably not something the others want to know about."

* * *

Azusa Nakano was already at the club room 20 minutes ahead of the others, running the usual errand of feeding Ton-chan. "There you go," she said, dropping the pellets that the little reptile happily snacked on. "Hope that serves you well." The door opened, and in came Mio, Jun and Tsumugi. "Hey guys, how was your day?"

"Great, thanks a lot," they replied.

"I just wanted to stop over," Jun added.

"Come on in, then," Azusa said. "That announcement I just heard...that was for Ui-sempai, right?"

"Well, I put it this way," Mio explained. "When you can't make up your mind as to what you want to do, you have to be prodded to come up with something before it's too late."

"Ohhhh. Did they raise hell in the classroom again?"

"Not exactly, they just did not submit an assignment on time. Pretty important one, too."

"Wow. It's not like Ui-sempai to be late with her assignments. Must be a difficult one. She must be human, after all."

Tsumugi tried to simplify the issue at hand. "Um, this is basically a discussion about their future."

"Ahhhh." Azusa was visualizing the possibility of Ui's future plans not being set in stone. She knew that her role of taking care of Yui was not going to change, but the other parts of what would take place in the long run were apparently taking some time to be drawn up.

And so Mugi proceeded to procure some custard pie and milk tea, courtesy of the Kotobuki house's pastry chefs, for the club's consumption. "Here you go, Jun-chan," she said, handing her a slice.

"Whoa, thanks." Jun savored a piece. "Man, this is fantastic! Awesome."

"Anyway, how long have you known Ui, Jun?" Mio asked. "This is a question I was itching to ask for quite some time."

"Kindergarten. She always liked to bring a journal with her wherever she went. Ui liked to draw on it and write about whatever is on her mind. She's a spatial type of girl."

"What kind of meeting was it?" Mugi asked excitedly.

"Well, since we just in kindergarten, it was something I feel comfortable discussing with you guys about. It was just your ordinary day, with a few clouds in the sky and we were sitting in the classroom. I asked Ui, 'Hey, what are you doing?' She said, 'Uh, I'm just drawing this.' So I take a look, then I go, 'Wow! What is this?' She says, 'It's our classroom, and all my friends doing this and that.' I then say, 'Ui, can I go ahead and take a look at the rest of your journal? I want to take a look!' She said, 'Sure,' and what I found was some interesting scribbles and entries. One of the more unusual entries I found was some tacky-looking flower. I asked Ui, 'What's this supposed to be?' She says, 'Oh, that? That's the Nagano logo.' Around that time, the Winter Olympics were going on. Actually when I got a leaflet of the games, she actually drew this right. The curves were just a bit off, but they looked pretty good. Ui pointed out the sports each part of the logo represented: ski jumping, speed skating, snowboarding, figure skating, alpine skiing and curling, from top left clockwise. She was pretty smart for somebody in kindergarten."

"Yeah, probably a little bit too smart," Mio said, astonished. "How was she able to know all those sports on the Olympics logo at the age of five?"

"I think her parents told her when they showed her a printout of the logo."

"Yeah, you know, that would be the only logical explanation. I don't know of anything else."

"I also saw an entry which says, 'I am sad. We only won five golds, one silver and four bronzes. Those Europeans...' and I just had to laugh."

"She is that fiercely devoted to our country, isn't she?" Tsumugi said in wonderment.

"Very loyal, very loyal. And there's even one that shows some girl's face with a ponytail. I asked Ui, 'Is that you when you grow older?' She just said, 'Actually, that's Tara Lipinski.' After further review...dammit, it was." The others laughed as Jun took a sip of Earl Grey.

"She loves to jot her thoughts down, doesn't she?" asked Mio through her guffaws.

"I guess so. It's an addicting premise. After that, we were always in the same class, from elementary school, to junior high, and now here. I suppose it's fate, coincidence, whatever, you know?"

"Pretty much," Azusa said. "Did Ui-sempai cause a lot of trouble when you were with her?"

"I wouldn't say that. Ui's a pretty well-behaved student, but her imagination is, like, so vivid...that I can't even begin to describe it. When we were in elementary school—I believe it was in third grade, Ui had her fifth volume of her journal with her, and she showed me this picture of a desert...with numerous heads lying around." Mio shrieked and cowered for shelter. Tsumugi blinked as Azusa looked on with suspicion. "That just creeped me out for the longest time. But there is a good side to her. We were camping out, and I saw this long line of students joining...Ui was serving the curry. And she was doing this for EVERYONE. Now, keep in mind that she's only in elementary school, and they are leaving this to her to do the curry. Just her. She did it without any problems, and they all said to the teachers, 'Hey, let's make Ui Hirasawa the chef from now on! Let her help out at the cafeteria; she's great! Since then, Ui's been serving it up at home and whenever we go on a field trip, she's assigned the job of cooking lunch. And she relishes that role."

"That's not the least bit surprising," Mio said, crawling back to her seat.

"In fact, she was so good that when they were doing home economics, she was stealing the attention from everybody because she was doing it so well. When the teacher wanted to do snicker doodles, Ui took it a few steps further and made oatmeal raisin chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies to go with the snicker doodles. When the teacher wanted takoyaki, she did that plus tempura, added some extra seasonings and also served it for everyone with superior presentation. And this is in grade school! Obviously she was going to pass this class, but some of the other students got a bit jealous. So she assuaged them by showing them how to do what she did. She gave tips, advice, and even critiqued their work. Ui went above and beyond by turning home economics into a restaurant. It was surreal, but that was how she did things."

Tsumugi whistled. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"I just hope the teacher didn't tell her to slow down," Mio said, chuckling.

"Ui was the brightest student in home economics, and that's where she really shined," Jun replied. "She also was great in PE. In junior high, she was a hit with the boys because she sweated so much from the workout she had. It stuck to her gym uniform and all the boys were fainting because her clothes looked tight on her." The others laughed. "They all wanted to take her out on a date after that. Ui had to comply. It was bothersome."

"I suppose it was..."

"She has her fans, Ui-chan does," Mugi said.

"There's also some other interesting things Ui has done up until now, but it would take a bible to jot them all down," Jun added."Whenever I see that smile on her face, it's like I've had an angel with me my entire life."

"We understand," Mio and Tsumugi said.

"You think so?" Azusa wondered.

Jun went on. "I mean, you don't see anybody in the mold of Ui Hirasawa that often in your entire lifetime except for a New York minute, and this is why I personally feel blessed to have been her childhood friend. She can cook, she can clean, she can illustrate and write, and she can even play music. I bet you didn't know this: at one time, she used to play piano, just like you, Mugi, and she was really good at it. But she prefers to play guitar now."

"A multi-instrumentalist," Tsumugi said. "This is why she is important to our club and our band. One of us can be sick, and she would fill in that spot without any problems. Ui-chan is very versatile."

"And you guys are the reason why she continues to improve in leaps and bounds and stretches her imagination to wherever it takes her, so I have to thank you, too."

Mugi was moved by the compliment. "Such a mature remark from Jun-chan."

"It's like Ui has two moms instead of one," Mio said.

"Two moms?" Mugi and Azusa asked, turning to her.

She flailed. "Two mothers, and she is one of them!"

"Well I wouldn't go that far; I prefer to consider myself a tagalong," Jun clarified with a chuckle. "Ui's the real mom here."

"All right, both of you have some explaining to do," Sawako said with a look of disappointment inside the staff. "You are the only ones who have yet to submit the sheet I gave you. Do you have it?"

"Ah, yes we do, Sawachan," Ritsu said. She and Ui gave their papers.

"Rejected," was her verdict, handing them back, to go with two clean copies. "Tainaka, yours says 'Undeclared' while yours, Hirasawa, says 'Decline to state.' Now look guys, this is your future we're talking about. Thinking about this seriously will help you a lot, okay?" They both nodded.

"Okay..."

"And Hirasawa, knowing you, I am sure you have something in mind. I am sure you can come up with something."

"Right," Ui replied. "But this is really, really big, Miss Sawako. You gotta give me time so I can give you something believable and ambitious. Otherwise, it's gonna be shot down in flames like that AC/DC song."

"I know what you mean, Hirasawa, but your future is around the corner, and you have to make up your mind. It isn't far away, you know."

"Well, at Sawachan's age, she is already there," Ritsu retorted.

"What did you just say? I couldn't hear you," she replied, pinching Ritsu's left cheek so hard it left a bruise.

"That's right, I realized you were like that during your high school years, so why did you decide to become a teacher?"

She let go. "Hmmm. Well, that's...It's a bit embarrassing for me to explain."

"Come on, it will be between the three of us," Ui said.

"I would like to know as a reference," Ritsu added.

"The person I liked wanted to also become a teacher," Sawako explained. "So I chose to come back here and become one after I got my degree and my credential. I first became the music teacher here, and then I moved up the ladder and now I am a homeroom teacher."

"Ooooh."

"Now, you were mentioned the reference, right?"

"Yes, Sawachan, I was."

"Well, I can't do it right now because you haven't been doing well in class. Now I can do it for Ui, but I will only file the reference after she completes this assignment."

"Awwww, no fair."

"You can't always have your way all the time. And besides, you did this to yourself."

"So what happened to the person you wanted to be with?" Ui asked.

Sawako wailed in despair. "I got dumped!"

"Awww. It's all right; there is still hope for you." She turned to Ritsu. "Hey Ricchan, I think we have to get ready to leave."

"Yeah, we will in a bit. What's important isn't the past, Sawachan, but the present."

"Even though you still don't have a boyfriend." Sawako wailed again, her head lying face down on the desk.

"You shouldn't have ruined the mood like that, Ui."

"What the hell was I supposed to do; tell her to go on a cosplay bender to Akihabara and have the nerds take cell phone snaps of her panties?" She turned to Miss Sawako. "Sorry about that. We'll try to get this ready for you later this week. See you, Miss Sawako."

"Toodles."

Sawako was still crying a river, only louder, as the two of them left the office for the music room with very little progress to show for it.

* * *

"Hey, there you are," Mio said as the door opened. "Hey Ui, how did it go?"

"How did it go? Well, there is no doubt about it: I have some work to do regarding the career/college survey," Ui said.

"She has some work to do, and so do I," Ritsu added, relaxed and easygoing as ever.

"But we also discovered something interesting about Miss Sawako's past."

"I thought you got a reprimand," Mio asked.

"No, that was Ricchan."

"There is a lot to this mystery we like to call life, isn't there, dearly beloved of the Light Music Club?" Ritsu said, shrugging her shoulders in her attempt to disclaim the accusation brought on by her hairclip-rocking friend.

Mio was wary of what happened, as if she has a sixth sense. It was no surprise Ritsu had a manipulative nature to her. "You guys probably did something to her again, didn't you?"

"On the contrary, dearest Mio; people become stronger because of all the adversity they go through. Ever heard of that Christina Aguilera song that goes, 'Made me learn a little bit faster, made my skin a little bit thicker, makes me that much smarter, so thanks for making me a fighter.' Ever heard of that?"

"Oh yeah, that's a good song right there," Ui replied as Ritsu took her seat. "I'm not that into Christina Aguilera, but I do like some of her music because they have honest lyrics written all over them."

"So was your future career survey okay the way it was?" Jun asked.

Ritsu paled. "Unfortunately, we have to do this shit over again!"

Ui held her clean copy. "Miss Sawako told me to think of something."

They all fell over. "That's what we've been trying to tell you!" Mio exclaimed.

"Is there something you want to be in the future?" Tsumugi asked.

"See, that's the question I am having a really, really tough time figuring out. Hey Mio," Ui asked, "What do you think would be good to put down?"

"You're going to decide that yourself," Mio replied sternly, with authority.

Ui slunk down. "Maybe I should just hide under a rock for the rest of my life."

She slammed her hands on the table. "Don't put that down!"

"Hey Ui, you said you wanted to become a businesswoman, right?" Jun asked.

Ui did recall jotting that ambition in the seventh volume of her journals. "Oh yeah, I remember that."

"That was an essay with the topic of 'My Future Dreams.' And you wrote this when we were back in third grade. You said, 'When I grow up, I want to work for a Fortune 500 company and make thousands and thousands of yen to support my family and myself. I want to be able to make the right choices for everyone and make the world a better place.' Something like that. And I think you did copy this in your journal. They were all clapping and laughing and you were smiling." The others laughed as well.

"If she does that," Mio said, "watch out, Mugi, she's gonna be richer than you."

"Two millionaires are better than one, so I guess we'll take it!" Ritsu said.

"They can both donate money back to the school!" Jun added.

"I wouldn't mind joining forces," Mugi said, beaming. "Takes a lot of slack off of me."

"If Ui-sempai strikes it rich, she's gonna have to treat all of us to dinner on her first paycheck!" Azusa proclaimed. They laughed again. "You're gonna have to do that, sempai!"

"I'll bring Miss Sawako, too," Ui replied.

"Going back on the topic of essays," Ritsu said, "Mio once won a prize for one of hers."

Mio flailed, sweating. "Uh, don't say it, you rat!" She was trembling.

Tsumugi was interested. "I want to hear all about it."

So was Ui. "I want to hear it, too!"

Mio turned to Azusa, "Hey, let's practice, Azusa, Prac-"

Too late. Her eyes were fixated. "Mio-sempai, I want to hear it as well!"

"Give up and consign yourself to the cold reality, Mio," Ritsu said sheepishly.

"Dammit, Ritsu," Mio screamed, "I fucking hate you!"

"Haters gonna hate..."

* * *

"I remember when we were in the fourth grade, and I had my ambitions laid out for me," Mio said, recalling the moment and repainting it. "It's hard for me to say out loud what I want to do because I get easily embarrassed if people think, no, there is no way she can do this. But I really thought that I could do this when I graduate."

"Mio was very quiet and kept to herself a lot of things," said Ritsu. "I spotted her reading a fairy tale book. Angel-san was the title, I believe. I asked her while staring blankly, 'Hey, whatcha doin'?" and Mio says, 'Oh, I'm just reading a book here.' Now there is a reason why she wanted to join the Literature club when we were freshmen, and this is the reason. She is a bookworm. So I continued to stare at her for the longest time, and then she starts to cry. Mio was even more shy that she is now. I wanted to know what she was reading. 'Hey, show me, show me,' I said. I didn't know she was that much into fairy tales. Mio is also a good illustrator, and likes to paint. Her reactions were unusual, so I thought, maybe I could scare her a bit. One time when we were at a park, and she was painting some tulips, I came over unannounced, saying, 'Mio-chan is good at drawing, too?' She covered herself with her easel. I always wanted to mess with her because we live next to each other. Only a piece of undeveloped land separates our houses. A few days later, she was looking at a test she took, and I wanted to know what it was. 'Wow, 100 points!' And she was stunned to see me behind her."

"Bloody hell, did you really have to say all of that? Come on now!"

"Oooh; that must have been nice. I wanted to mess with her too."

"The hell you do!"

"Sempai!" Azusa had similar reservations regarding Ritsu's photographic memories. 'Isn't that bullying?"

"Sorry, sorry. But it isn't bullying at all. I think when you're in grade school, you always like to tease people that you're best friends with, you know? That's how it is."

"That's because I have never had to put up with anything like that when I was in grade school."

"We weren't especially friendly with each other to begin with though, right Mio?"

"Well, duh!" Mio shot back. "That's because you did all that stuff and I had to fucking put up with you and your antics. If you were trying to be best friends with me, fuck, you were doing a very crappy job at it." She took out a marker. "All of that garbage you gave me has made me reach my limit, and I've had enough of it. Ritsu, show me your forehead. Now."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it. I need to write something."

"I hope it isn't anything objectionable..." Mio wrote the kanji symbol for "Eye". Ritsu looked and saw what she had written. The others giggle. "Oh geez. My forehead..."

"The ink in that marker is water-based, so don't worry; it will rub off. This is my way of coming to terms with your crap."

"Anyway," Jun asked Mio, "what happened to the essay presentation?"

"Y-you remembered?"

"I think I did, but it's not clear."

"No problem, Mio, go ahead and tell them," Ritsu said. Mio sighed as her kanji-rocking friend made the most out of the situation. "Hey everybody, greetings from Earth. I am a three-eyed alien!" She cooed a few bars of the "X-Files" theme as the others laughed and applauded.

"Later on in my fourth-grade year, I wrote an essay that won a prefecture prize. Those who received a prize has to present their essay in front of everybody at school. I was sitting in the school playground by myself, looking at my paper, and I didn't want to read. I was depressed. I just did not want to stand in front of everyone and see them laughing at me after I read my essay. And then Ritsu came. 'What's wrong?' she asked. I tried to pass it off. 'Nothing,' I said. But she knew that something was up, and it was serious. So we talked. 'So you don't want to present your essay?' Ritsu asked me. 'Why not?' I told her, 'Because it's embarrassing.' And I was twiddling my fingers. 'What are you talking about?' she says. 'It's not embarrassing; this is amazing! You're representing our school, and that is awesome!' I wasn't the outgoing, energetic person that Ritsu is. 'I...It's not amazing at all,' I said. I was putting myself down. 'But you were the only one in our class who got a prize, and it has to be,' she said. 'If it were me, I would tell the whole world about it.'

"She knew how big this was. Tokyo Prefecture is pretty huge. It's the metropolis of Japan, and to earn a prize that represents this part of the country is a big deal. Ritsu knew it. I guess I was trying to be a bit humble, playing it down and stuff. I stood there and screamed, 'Then you should have gotten the prize instead of me! I don't want to read this in front of everyone!' Those words shook Ritsu. She didn't want to see me like this. 'Sorry.' But what she also realized was that I could project my words if I am in the mood. Ritsu was thinking, hey, maybe I can work with her so that she can be confident enough to express what she has to say. She just smiled and said, 'What do you have to sorry about? I'm your best friend, Mio. I'll help you out any way I can.' That was the side of Ritsu that I didn't expect. She took my hands and said, 'Tell you what, I want you to come to my house for some special training! That way, you will be able to be confident enough to speak in front of everybody. How about it?' I was like, 'But...' And then she said, 'Don't worry, don't worry. Remember: I'm your best friend, and trust me, it will work.' At first, I was unwilling, because we were both running over to her house. But this was where I began to trust her.

"So we were now at her house and she said, 'Well then, Ms. Mio Akiyama of Class 4-1, seat number 1, please go ahead.' I was feeling shy. 'I can't do it,' I said. Ritsu knew this was coming and said, 'The stand must be too short. Do you want me to make it higher?' 'That's not the problem,' I replied. So she had other ideas. 'Let's try this.' She took off her headband, which was colored orange at the time, and tied her hair bad the way she would when she was sleeping. 'Okay, it's done.' I asked, 'What is that?' 'A pineapple,' she replied. 'My dad likes to spend time as a motivational speaker, and he told me that when you're nervous, pretend that the people in the audience are potatoes. So basically, pretend that you are talking to a potato patch. However, I can't pretend to be a potato, so I'm going with the next best thing and pretending to be a pineapple!' I laughed, saying, 'You don't even look like a pineapple, what are you talking about!' Seriously, I didn't get the logic behind it, but if it worked, it worked, so I gave it a try. Turns out, it worked. It worked like a charm. I'll go ahead and read an excerpt from the essay, which goes, 'I believe it is important to prepare for the future and to plan for what we want to do when we are through with elementary and junior high school. I want to be able to attend a very good high school in my city and become admitted to one of the best universities in Japan. In my family, education has been an important part of their lives and the importance of getting the best education possible is the reason I am here today. I want to make the most of learning because when I have a legacy for everyone to remember, it's because I made education and learning something new every day priorities in my life. My name is Mio Akiyama of Class 4-1, and this ends my speech. Thank you.' Everybody stood up and applauded, and I smiled because I was able to finish the speech and I was relaxed when I read it."

"Wow," Tsumugi said. "What a nice, touching story."

"You used to be a good girl back then, Ritsu-sempai," Azusa noticed.

"But it's not the Ricchan that I know," Ui said, smirking.

"Huh? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ritsu had to wonder. "Don't you know that I have qualities that deserve some type of kudos? Come on Ui; don't play that way!"

"But if that's the case, why do you have that mark on your forehead? Alien..." They all laughed, except for Ritsu, who was clearly insulted.

"Anyway, did the essay presentation go well?" Azusa asked.

"Well it was an essay that Mio wrote, so the contents actually had some fantasy added into it as well," Ritsu replied, elaborating the juicy details.

Mio was nonplussed. "Uh, you know I read part of this essay, right?"

"But it was mostly fantasy stuff, you see. Picture me in that situation, reading about tangos and bourgeois and living the dream while throwing in education. My back itches just thinking about it."

"I guess it still does," Azusa replied sympathetically.

Mio went on as Ui sipped her tea. "However, after that speech, I would go Ritsu's house every often to play."

"Exactly," Ritsu said. "I taught you a lot of things, didn't I?"

"Yeah, quite a lot. One time, you told me, 'Mio, to cure your shyness, you first must have confidence in yourself. Start with the way you speak. You have to add 'you know' to the end of your sentences. You'll be seen as having a whole lotta confidence.' Now Ritsu had been watching a lot of those anime that have interesting copulas at the end, so I could see where she was getting this from. But I had to try, and I said, 'My name is Mio Akiyama, you know.' She said 'There you go, now we're getting somewhere with this.' Ritsu probably knew something I didn't. But she did teach a whole lot of things, from the way I talk, to the way I dress, to the way boys are. In retrospect, I feel like I ingested a lot of useless information. I guess I probably shouldn't have gotten Ritsu to help me."

Ritsu was on the verge of tears. "Hey Mio, lighten up, will you?" Ui asked. "We don't need you to be mean-spirited today. Ricchan's already had an earful from Miss Sawako; she doesn't need any more."

"You're always opinionated, Ui."

She pointed at Mio. "Opinionated but dedicated, and this fact is not useless information!"

Mio scratched her cheek a little. "But I probably have to thank Ritsu for introducing me to music."

"Mio-chan!" Tsumugi said, hands to her cheeks.

Ritsu was appreciative of her words, smiling through her shining tears. "Mio!"

So was Azusa. "Mio-sempai."

"That's what we want to hear," Ui said with a thumbs-up. "Accentuate the positives, eliminate the negatives."

"Damn right," Jun added as she finished her tea and custard pie. Mio was stunned at the reaction. "Guys, don't scare me like that!" Ton-chan wondered about, a lithe, floating figure in a body of hydrogen and oxygen cantilevering lazily. "You know, this conversation wasn't supposed to be about Ritsu and me. Ritsu, Ui, this was supposed to be about what you two are going to do when we graduate."

"Exactly," Jun concurred. "This is what I like to do. I like to break down any complications, simplify it and get some sort of rough sketch of what you want to be."

Ui brought out the list. "One of the items on that list I showed you was a florist."

"That sounds like a nice job to have," Azusa said. "It's relevant to your down-to-earth nature because you are working with plants."

"When I was in grade school and we had home economics, I was sometimes assigned to tend the plants because we also have a garden. On occasions there are a few instructors that show me how to maintain the flowers and we sometimes bring in new plants every month. At home, I do maintain our family's garden in our porch and we have seven different kinds of flowers."

"Then how about you do that?"

"Taking care of flowers is a hobby for me. It's not meant to be a profession."

"What else do you have on that list?"

"I could also be a secretary working for a corporation, answering phone calls and filing reports. This is also on my list. I am don't have a problem being late for work, and if I have to make a meeting, I try to arrive there an hour ahead, and I also adjust my sleep cycles to accommodate the schedule I have."

"So why not put that on there?"

"You can't progress far if you decide to become an admin assistant. At some point in time, it won't be able to pay your bills. You then want to move up the ladder and get higher pay. So I want a position in a company where I can advance."

"Okay, well is there anything else you want to put on?"

"How about being a bus guide?" Ritsu suggested.

"That's a minimum-wage job," Ui replied curtly.

"How would you know?' Azusa asked.

"Even though I can go to a lot of famous places for free, it doesn't pay very well, you work long hours, and it's not fun. I'd rather flip burgers at Max Burger than do something like that, Ricchan."

It was hard for Ritsu to hide her disappointment. "Awwww."

"And that also was a terrible suggestion you made, for the record."

"At least I made one."

"But you didn't give it a lot of thought."

"I did..."

"Liar. And even though you guys won't care much about this, Yui would suck at being a florist, a secretary or a bus guide. Just for the record."

"Duly noted. How about being a waitress?"

"Similar to bus guide in being minimum-wage, so no."

"You have to remember a lot of orders," Mio said.

"Mugi did something similar by working at Max Burger, but it was being a cashier, and she chose to do it for only one month."

"Okay," Ritsu said, "how about a baker?"

"Funny story: I had a few friends at junior high that decided to spend time at a patisserie located outside of the school. This bakery wasn't owned by Mugi's family, so the expertise wasn't as strong. However, after the owners trained my friends and became assistant pastry chefs, they decided that after they graduate from high school, they will go on and become full-time bakers and own the shop."

"Cool story, Ui-chan," Tsumugi said, clasping her hands, eyes sparkling.

"I agree," Ritsu concurred. "I wish those guys well."

"As for me, I prefer to bake just for sustenance, not for profit. Yui and my parents love my baking, but just like maintaining the garden, I do it for the love of it, not for the extrinsic rewards. It would be nice to help set up wedding cakes as a profession, but I will have to say no." The others groaned in disappointment. "What? You're making it look like I am rejecting every cool-looking guy that wants some head!"

Mio was scratching her head as if she was confused. "We're giving you some good suggestions, and you don't seem to like any single one of them."

"I think choosing what immediately comes to mind will have to do for Ui," Jun said, consigning herself to the reality that they ran out of realistic suggestions for her friend to consider.

"I think I have something, but I'm going to run it over with her before I officially submit it," Ui said. "Ricchan, you with me on this?"

"I'm with you, sistah!" Ritsu said enthusiastically.

"I'll run it with you before we go in. We'll be right back," Ui said, dragging Ritsu with her to the office.

"Ouch! Master, please be gentle."

"Good...luck," Mio said, waving hesitantly. They were left to wonder.

* * *

"So this is what we are going to put," Ui said, showing Ritsu the writing.

"Hmmm, this says 'Live the life of a rock star, fueled by sex, drugs and rock and roll,'" Ritsu read. She immediately copied the answer. "Can't lose, automatic."

"Well, I just want to see her reaction to this, that's all." She opened the door. "Miss Sawako, we have something for you that you might like."

Sawako took a look at their answers. "Too unrealistic, and too dangerous. Rejected." She handed the papers back, placing a palm to her forehead in frustration. "Hirasawa, I need to talk with you for a bit."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Tainaka, you have until tomorrow to send me something more compelling that this drivel. You're dismissed."

"You're a party-pooper, Sawachan, and you know it," Ritsu said before leaving. "Bitch!" She slammed the door as she stormed out.

"Forgive Ricchan, Miss Sawako, she doesn't like that type of answer from you," Ui said.

"Yeah, but I'll have to note that on her conduct record to the headmaster. Anyway—and I will call you by your first name since the day is just about over—Ui, I need you to come up with something that is realistic, honest, and achievable. You can do this. Just quit fooling around." She placed her hands on Ui's shoulders. "You can do this. You can plan your future without making this a big deal. Okay?"

"Yes, Miss Sawako."

"I'll see you tomorrow, and I expect something from you that will dazzle me. Take care."

"Yes, Miss Sawako. Thank you." Ui bowed and went on her way. Sawako looked on with a smile. She didn't realize how on the money she would be with her prognostication. Sawako Yamanaka was nobody's fool, and Ui Hirasawa knew it.

"So what the hell did you put?" Mio asked Ui as the two of them returned to the .

"Take a look," she replied, handing her the list.

"Sawachan is a fucking bitch!" Ritsu wailed. "She wouldn't even accept-OW!"

Mio gave Ritsu a headbump. "Be nice."

"Dammit, what the hell; you don't have to follow her!"

"Be still and hold your tongue, dearest Ricchan. How about it?" Ui asked Mio.

Azusa read the sheet. "Sex, drugs and rock and roll?"

Mio could not believe that this was what Ui came up with. "If I was Miss Sawako, I would reject this, too. I think you really have to come up with something now."

"But we were," Ritsu said.

"No you weren't!"

Jun looked at the sheet and laughed. "There have been a lot of people who went this path, but paid the price with their life because of overdoses, suicide or AIDS. So I can understand why she rejected this."

"You sure can!" Ui said back, arms crossed.

"Or maybe she has given up with giving you any more advice for the rest of the week," Azusa said, thoroughly displeased with Ui's decision.

"Sex, drugs, and rock and roll...and Jun-chan is laughing," Tsumugi said, hands on her cheeks. "It makes my heart melt."

"Actually," said Ui, hands on her hips while Ritsu had her hands behind her head again, "I wrote this to see what Miss Sawako's reaction was going to be. I knew that Jun was going to get a laugh out of this."

Mio echoed Azusa's sentiment. "Half-assing assignments simply to draw a reaction from the instructor is not why you are here, Ui."

It was relatively quiet back at the Hirasawa house, as Yui watched some random highlights while tossing a pillow around with her feet as if she was juggling a soccer ball. "Vissel Kobe 2, FC Tokyo 2," she read.

"You watching those highlights again?" Ui said, cleaning up the dishes.

"Yeah. I didn't know that the team from Nagoya had Jesus Christ on the field."

"That's not Jesus, his name is Joshua Kennedy, and he is from Australia."

"Ehhhh, but he looks like Jesus!"

"I suppose he does."

Yui sang for a little bit. "Don't worry about a thing, because every little thing's gonna be all right..."

"By the way, what do you want to be when you graduate from high school?"

"I don't know."

"I figured that was going to be your answer."

"Maybe, maybe not. I just haven't had the time to think about it, onee-chan."

Ui shook her head and continued washing the dishes. "Yeah, all you're thinking about is tossing that pillow around with your feet as if it's a soccer ball!"

"Eheheheheheh..."

"You know me, Yui. I already know you frame of mind without having to guess."

Yui giggled as she continued to juggle the pillow around.

Back in her bed, Ui looked at the sheet. She took a long, deep breath, and then said with a nod of affirmation, "I think it's time for me to end this now." Breaking out her laptop, she attached it to a printer in her room, and started typing.

* * *

The deadline for the career/college survey came close. Others in her class had a diverse range of plans: from beauty school, to an art university to study photography, to studying Chinese at a university in China as a foreign exchange student, to nursing school, to working at a family-owned liquor store since one of the students' parents owned a small business. But she had something better.

Ui gave it one more shot as she gave the form to Miss Sawako. "Miss Sawako, prepare to be dazzled."

"Oh? Let's take a look then." She looked it over. "CEO of a small business via a Bachelor's and MBA from University of Tokyo or Meiji University. Recommendations available upon request. As an alternate route, will go into early childhood education at a university that has a program specifically designed for this or will go into a pursuing a degree in music from University of Tokyo, Meiji University, Keio University or Waseda University." For added emphasis, she added a small resume of her academic accomplishments thus far.

She was impressed. "See what happens when you don't beat around the bush? Approved. Now that you have you plans ready, I want you to stick to them. I will have you reference ready next week. We'll see you."

"Thank you, Miss Sawako!" Ui said, bowing, before taking off.

Jun came down the stairs to take a look at the outcome. "Hey, how was it?" she asked.

Ui winked and gave a thumbs up before leaving the campus into the sunset. Jun gave back a thumbs-up while stroking the turtle in acknowledgement. Mission accomplished.

Ui proceeded to whip out her iPod and play the sixth track from AC/DC's Highway to Hell album. Ritsu would then be the only one that didn't submit the assignment, earning a zero grade for her lack of effort.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 8**


	9. Get It Hot

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 9:**

**Get It Hot**

**

* * *

**

There were times that Ui Hirasawa loved to work hard, and there were times Ui Hirasawa loved to play hard. She was a person that believed that if anyone should do something, they must do it right, with style and with gusto. There was no exception to this rule, and she frowned at not adhering to it. Playing hard was something Ui liked to do. There were times that Ui would run up and down the neighborhood streets in the early morning hours to get her mind in focus. Today proved to be a good opportunity to do so, with the sun shining and very few clouds in sight.

Taking a boom box from her bedroom, she plugged it to a socket on one of the exterior walls of her house, and played some music from the West as she stretched. The local deejay was playing "What a Fool Believes" by The Doobie Brothers. Donning a simple T-shirt and some sweat pants, Ui got every muscle in her body ready for ready for the 5K jaunt that lay ahead.

Yui Hirasawa, her younger sister, was just coming down the stairs and heard the smooth voice of a certain Michael McDonald. "Onee-chan, good morning," she said with a deep yawn.

"Oh, hi Yui. How are you?"

"Fine. Hey, is that the Doobie Brothers you're listening to?"

"It's the radio, so, yeah."

"Cool. I like that band. What are you going to do, onee-chan?"

"Well, I'm going to head off and do some running before I get ready for class." She bent over to stretch her legs. Yui realized that Ui was sticking her buttocks out and a spark came from her eyes as she gave dealt her older sister's tushie a nice, hard, loving slap. "Ow! Not too hard, Yui!"

"Tee hee." There were times that Yui was that much of a scoundrel. She liked to mess around a little bit with Ui because she had such a perfect frame. And Ui didn't mind the foreplay because it was something that made Yui feel good. Sure, it bordered on the lines of incestuous, but for all it was worth, they were siblings that loved each other's company to the point of absolute skinship.

"Hey Yui, do you want to join me on the jog?"

"Nah, I'll just prepare for class today."

"All right. By the way, I already prepared breakfast on the table and your lunch is also set. When I leave, be sure to unplug the boom box and put it away, all right?"

"Cool. Thanks, onee-chan!"

Ui smiled. She also had the song on her iPod and took off as if she was on the wings of an angel, passing through city streets, next door neighbors, and the collective goodwill of the world around her. One of her neighbors was her grandmother, who lived next door. "Hey Grandma!"

"Oh, hello there Ui-chan. You seem to be up and at 'em early today," her grandmother said in her scraggly voice, chuckling.

"I feel like I am ready to take on the world right now, and there is no one that's going to stop me."

"Heehee, excellent. I am so proud that my daughter is blessed to have raised such a free-spirited eldest granddaughter as you. It warms my heart."

"All right, see you!"

"May the gods bless you on your journey!" And Ui's grandma saw her take off with the wings of an angel before she returned to sweeping the dust and debris off her sidewalk.

The 5K run took her just 15 minutes to complete. Afterwards, Ui took a quick shower before donning her school uniform and Gitah en route to jogging over to Sakuragaoka High School Girls' Campus. She checked her watch. 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

Her friends were watching the proceedings from the Music Room. "There she is, zooming in our crosshairs," Ritsu Tainaka said to Jun Suzuki, Tsumugi Kotobuki and Mio Akiyama, grinning in typical fashion. "The one, the only...Ui Hirasawa."

"She's pretty fast," Mio said, impressed. "I still wonder why she didn't compete on the track team."

"I don't think it's relevant to her interests," Jun said. "Rock and roll is."

"Very relevant," Tsumugi added. "The power of enjoying her youth compels her."

"You always preach about that, don't you Mugi?" Ritsu wondered.

"I do. I live, eat and drink this."

"Figures."

"Hey Ui, get over here already!" Jun said through the window.

"What are you talking about, Jun, I'm nine minutes ahead of schedule here!"

Ritsu noticed her pace accelerate and whistled."Dang, she's fast."

Ui was back in the classroom, twirling and tossing an unsharpened pencil like a baton. "Phoenix, Arizona, don't forget Winona," she sang. "Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino..."

"Oh, so now it's all about Route 66?" Ritsu asked.

She had to correct her. "More like getting your kicks on Route 66."

"Got it. You seem to be a little bit warm today."

"5K morning run through the streets of Tokyo. Always a blast."

"Always, huh?"

"The fact that you were still able to get here with minutes to spare after that long of a jog is pretty impressive," Mio noted. "Even more unbelievable is that you're passing it off as if it never happened."

Ui pointed at Mio with her pencil, winking. "Sometimes I tend to be like that."

"You tend to be everything and anything. Who's gonna doubt that? Showoff."

"I am so glad that I got that bloody career plan out of my way. That is history. Guys, let us never talk about that assignment ever again. Do I make myself clear, folks?"

"Yes," was the collective response.

"Thank you. Now, what else did you guys want to say as I twirl this flimsy-ass pencil baton?"

"Believe in yourself," Tsumugi said.

"That's it?" Ritsu asked with a scowl. "I don't know if that's going to help much. She's already doing just fine."

"Yeah, Ms. I'm The Only One who failed the assignment," Mio retorted.

"Blow me!" A raspberry was sent in Mio's direction, and a headbump came her way. "Argh."

Mio stroked her chin. "The finals before summer break are coming up, and it looks like we could use some brushing up so that we all pass this. I already know Ui can fly through this, but we still need to study."

Ui caught the pencil, pointing at Mio with it. "Right on, Mio Akiyama. Ladies," she said, her feet on the desk as she broke out a hayseed to chew on, "we are at an academic crossroads in our senior year here. Now is the time to kick some academic tushie."

"Way to state the obvious with a hayseed, Ui," Ritsu replied, unimpressed by the impromptu acting routine.

"Thank you, Ricchan; I try."

It was time for a little history lesson. "I want you to turn to your history books on page 269, regarding the Tsushima Incident," the instructor said. "Now, in 1858 the Imperial Russian Navy leased a strip of Nagasaki Bay coastline across the village of Inasa as a winter anchorage for the Chinese Flotilla's emerging Pacific Fleet (all domestic anchorages froze up in winter). Flotilla commander Admiral Ivan Likhachev realized the dangers of basing the fleet in a foreign port, and settled on establishing a permanent base in Tsushima. He was aware that the British had attempted to set their flag there in 1859 and had conducted hydrographic surveys around the island in 1860 he requested a go-ahead from the government in Saint Petersburg; the cautious foreign minister, Alexander Gorchakov, ruled out any incursions against British interests, while General Admiral Konstantin Nikolayevich suggested making a private deal with the head of Tsushima-Fuchu Domain, as long as it did not disturb "the West".

"In line with Likhachev's will and Konstantin's advice Posadnik left Hakodate February 20, 1861 and on March 1 reached the village of Osaki on the western coast of Aso Bay (Tatamura Bay in historical reports). Mune Yoshiori, head of Tsushima clan, immediately informed the Bakufu government, however, the cautious cabinet of Ando Nobumasa delayed their response and Yoshiori had to act on his own. Birilev, captain of the Posadnik, made personal contact with Mune, exchanged courtesy gifts, and secured Yoshiori's consent to survey the Imoskaka Bay; Posadnik arrived there on April 2. The crew disembarked, raised the Russian flag, and began building temporary housing, a landing jetty and prepared to refit the ship which needed repairs to propeller and stern tube. Japanese officials tacitly agreed with de facto establishing a naval base and even assigned a team of fifteen local carpenters to help the Russians; the latter rewarded Mune with a gift of small naval cannons. Likhachev inspected the bay twice, March 27 on board the Oprichnik and April 16 on board the Svetlana and recorded friendly behavior of the Japanese, however, in April the situation irreversibly changed. Turn to the next page." They all did.

"On April 12, 1861 when the Russians disembarked from their launches, a group of local peasants led by one Yasugoro attempted to bar entrance and drive the Russians back. In the ensuing clash Yasugoro was killed, two Japanese peasants taken hostage, the rest fled; no Russian fatalities were recorded. Mune appeased the population, ordering them to wait for a Bakumatsu pronouncement, and did not take any action. Russian sources say nothing about presence of Japanese or British warship in the area.

"Oguri Tadamasa, the messenger of Bakumatsu arrived in Tsushima in May and politely told Birilev to leave; Birilev explained that he would not move unless the Admiral orders retreat. After 13 days of waiting in vain Oguri left; he left a letter allowing contacts between Birilev and local administration without prejudices against further radical action by the Japanese. Birilev used the permit to the full, and persuaded the council of Japanese officials to issue a charter agreeing with Russian naval presence in Tsushima. Tsushima elders granted the coastline between Hiroura and Imosaki exclusively to the Russians and agreed to bar entrance to any other foreign nation. The charter, however, clearly said that all these concessions depended on good will of the central government. Thus, Oguri Tadamasa made a tremendous contribution to preventing the British from invading Japan..."

Ui was busy scribbling down notes and a pictorial description of the incident, when she noticed Ritsu sleeping like a baby on the desk. "Pssst, wake up," she said in a worried tone. "This is some important stuff, you know."

"Ugh, she fell asleep already," Mio grunted as she looked at Ritsu with a disappointed look on her face. "Dammit!" Ui had to shrug her shoulders before returning to the note-jotting.

After class, Ui squished Ritsu's face lovingly. "Am I waking you up yet, you little punk?" Mugi, Mio and Jun were standing witness.

"Ner, yuw urnlur squrshur mur furse," was her response. She got up, her palm raised northward to high heaven. "Don't worry everyone, I'll study hard!"

Ui put the hayseed back in her mouth. "That's the spirit."

"Did you really have to use the hayseed again?" Mio deadpanned.

She smiled and winked. "Yes, ma'am."

* * *

Sakuragaoka Girls Campus's library was 100,000 volumes strong and covered every subject relevant to the curriculum of the school. The resources at the library were not only available for students to use, but they aware also available for staff, teachers and other employees. Every week, about 400-500 students would use the library to study and prepare for exams and assignments, as well as conduct original research. The Boys Campus had a similar library, but had more volumes at 105,000. The extra 5,000 were manga volumes and was the fastest growing of all the sections of that library. Earlier in the week, it was decided by the student council to install a manga section in the library to rival that of the Boys' Campus. By the current senior class's graduation, about 10,000 new volumes of eye candy would be available for viewing at the library. In the meantime, the music room took the lead with a humble 100 volumes of manga.

"I dig that handwriting, Mugi," Ui said with a grin.

"You do? Thanks."

"I should try it sometime. I wanted to go ahead and debrief you on this history lesson which probably will be in the final: the Hyogo naval expedition of November 1865. As the Bakufu has proved incapable to pay the $3,000,000 indemnity demanded by foreign nations for the intervention at Shimonoseki, foreign nations agreed to reduce the amount in exchange for a ratification of the Harris Treaty by the Emperor, a lowering of customs tariffs to a uniform 5%, and the opening of the harbors of Hyogo (modern Kobe) and Osaka to foreign trade. In order to press their demands more forcefully, a squadron of four British, one Dutch and three French warships were sent to the harbor of Hyogo in November 1865. Various incursions were made by foreign forces, until the Emperor finally agreed to change his total opposition to the Treaties, by formally allowing the Shogun to handle negotiations with foreign powers.

"These conflicts led to the realization that head-on conflict with Western nations was not a solution for Japan. As the Bakufu continued its modernization efforts, Western daimyos (especially Satsuma and Choshu) also continued to modernize intensively in order to build a stronger Japan and to establish a more legitimate government under Imperial power."

"Interesting," Mio noted, jotting things down.

"Another one that will be on here. Take a close look." They all did, except for Ritsu, who was feeling woozy. "Ee ja nai ka was a complex of carnivalesque religious celebrations and communal activities which occurred in many parts of Japan from June 1867 to May 1868, at the end of the Edo period and the start of the Meiji restoration. In West Japan, it appeared at first in the form of dancing festivals, often related to public works, rain magic, or dances for the dead. When sacred amulets were said to have fallen from heaven, thanksgiving celebrations for these amulets were added that could last for several days and effectively took whole rural and urban communities away from everyday life. Gifts were exchanged, youth groups organized mass dancing including cross-dressing or wearing costumes. To express their gratitude towards the gods or Buddhas who had given them the amulets, many people went on pilgrimages to local or regional sanctuaries. The term ee ja nai ka ("Isn't it great?") was a refrain in popular songs performed during these activities and was therefore later chosen as their title."

Ritsu was working on a crossword puzzle. "So first, there is a 'ta', the in the middle is a 'ki', and at the end there is 'n'. Hmmm."

"Note, Ricchanski: it's a snack."

"Tanuki Udon," Mio answered.

"Hey, hey, hey; you know it!"

Tsumugi was fascinated. "What kind of food is that?"

"A type of udon topped with tempura, Mugi."

"Sounds delicious!"

"That's because it is."

"It's called tanuki udon because the tempura looks like a tanuki, a raccoon-dog," Ritsu explained to Mugi.

"Ooooh."

"You know, we're not getting any studying done with the way things are going right now," Mio said, disgusted with her colleagues.

* * *

The others grinned. Nonetheless, they went on for another half-hour. Ui took the lead. "So after Keiki had temporarily avoided the growing conflict, anti-shogunal forces instigated widespread turmoil in the streets of Edo using groups of ronin. Satsuma and Choshu forces then moved on Kyoto in force, pressuring the Imperial Court for a conclusive edict demolishing the shogunate. Following a conference of daimyo, the Imperial Court issued such an edict, removing the power of the shogunate in the dying days of 1867. The Satsuma, Choshu, and other han leaders and radical courtiers, however, rebelled, seized the imperial palace, and announced their own restoration on January 3, 1868. Keiki nominally accepted the plan, retiring from the Imperial Court to Osaka at the same time as resigning as shogun. Fearing a feigned concession of the shogunal power to consolidate power, the dispute continued until culminating in a military confrontation between Tokugawa and allied domains with Satsuma, Tosa and Choshu forces, in Fushimi and Toba. With the turning of the battle toward anti-shogunal forces, Keiki then quit Osaka for Edo, essentially ending both the power of the Tokugawa, and the shogunate that had ruled Japan for over 250 years.

"Following the Boshin war (1868–1869), the bakufu was abolished, and Keiki was reduced to the ranks of the common daimyo. Resistance continued in the North throughout 1868, and the bakufu naval forces under Admiral Enomoto Takeaki continued to hold out for another six months in Hokkaido, where they founded the short-lived Republic of Ezo. This defiance ended in May 1869 at the Battle of Hakodate, after one month of fighting..." She was a historian, that Ui Hirasawa.

After they completed studying, it was off to the Family Mart to kill some time. Ritsu checked some packages. "Hmmm. Hey, this looks good."

Mio was busy browsing through the latest edition of jazzLive Magazine. There was an aspiring young bassist from India having a one-on-one interview about his rags-to-riches tale and his recent travels across Asia. Plus, there were some ads for other bass guitars on sale. None of them, however, had anything on Elizabeth. Of all the bass guitars out there in the whole wide world, Elizabeth meant the most to Mio and nothing else.

Ui was busy copying Tsumugi's notes at the Family Mart. "I hope you're not trying to use them as a study guide," she asked with a worried tone.

"I told you; it's about the handwriting," she reiterated. "You handwriting is beautiful and I want to study it. Besides, your notes and mines are similar enough; I'm just copying for the visual aesthetics."

"Well, if you say so..."

"Thanks a lot, by the way."

"Anytime, Ui-chan."

Ritsu called both of them back. "Hey Ui, Mugi, open your mouths." She popped some mints. "These are Hyper Ultra Sadistic Mints. Try 'em."

"Oooh, these are good," Ui said, "but spicy."

Tsumugi nearly choked on hers. "Paralyzing..."

Mio turned around, a drop of sweat on her head. "What are you idiots doing?" She meant to find out.

* * *

"No problems, no worries, Hakuna Matata and all that jazz," Ui said, speaking in her Ui-style gibberish as the afternoon came blazing over the Tokyo skies.

"I love the Lion King," Tsumugi said, noting the Disney reference.

"Are you sure you gonna be able to study?" Mio asked Ritsu.

"Absolutely," she replied confidently.

"Well, we all know Ui here, in spite of her fetish for Tsumugi's handwriting, will have no problems studying, right?"

"Generally, when I'm at home," Ui explained, "I'm at my best." As the others went on their way, Ui passed by the shrine near the Hirasawa house before meeting up with her grandmother again, returning home from chatting with the other neighborhood elders. "Granny!"

"Hello, Ui-chan," she replied in her sweet, scraggly voice.

"I'm back."

"Welcome back. So, how have things been down at the school?"

"More of the same. And a bit more history has just been plugged into my head."

"Hmmm. It's very important to learn about your country and its heritage. Very good. I have some seasoned boiled veggies that I was going to hand you when you were at home. Here you go. There's a lot in this box, so knock yourself out." She handed the package of food over.

"Mmmm. Thanks, Granny." She tried to bow, but the abruptness caused Gitah to bump on her head.

"Oooh my. Better be careful." Ui giggled. "So you're still doing that, huh? Your..."

"Yes, I am." She turned around to show her the guitar case on her shoulder. "This is Gitah."

"Ahhh, Gitah. What a nice name.

"Gitah the Guitar. My pride and my joy."

"Heheh. I can see that. You know, you've been keeping that up since you got into high school. You've come a very long way. You're really doing your best, aren't you, Ui?" Grandma was beaming. "I am so proud of you."

Ui blushed. Those were some touching words from her grandmother. "Awww, shucks." For Ui, the evening was spent looking at Mugi's notes, reviewing the handwriting style, and looking at sites relevant to the subjects on Wikipedia and elsewhere.

"If Yui were to get the type of praise I got," she wrote on her journal, "she would be playing my guitar to no end. It just wouldn't stop. But that's what makes my grandma one of the best. I remember when she would clean up the mess me and Yui made when we were kids. I remember the days when she would hand us candy and make us happy. I remember the days when she would see us off to school and welcome us back. She still does that every now and then. I remember the days when I felt like I wanted to cry because I lost something in the sand, and she was there to find it and make me, Yui and Jun feel better. She is someone that always takes care of me and doesn't ask for anything in return. It sucks that at some point in time, I won't be able to experience that anymore."

She paused from writing, closed her writing and internalized the future without her grandma with her. Afterward, she chose to do some cooking for her and Yui. Ui was in a gleeful mood, so it was going to be extra-special for the two of them.

Yui was simply bumming around on her back as she opened the door. "Hey Yui, dinner's ready!"

"Cool, onee-chan," she said. "I can't wait to see what you got cooking."

"You'll love it. I swear to God, it will be a knockout."

* * *

Miso soup, the vegetables Granny prepared, salad and some other fixings were on the table. "Now this is what I call a dinner, onee-chan," Yui said, grabbing her morsels with her chopsticks.

"Isn't it great? And Grandma cooked the vegetables herself." She grabbed a mushroom. "Not bad."

"You must have gotten her cooking skills, onee-chan."

"You think so?"

"Yep!"

"Come to think of it, I have to thank Granny somehow. I wonder how I am going to do it." And thus, the wheels for Ui's next plan were set in motion.

"Onee-chan, I decided to give her some of the souvenirs from the senior trip that you gave me."

"You did, huh? Did she like them?"

"Yep."

"Not bad. I knew I could count on you."

"Eheheh."

Ui had an idea. "I think I should bake some cookies and bring them over to her. What do you think, Yui?"

She was enthusiastic about the suggestion. "Onee-chan's cookies? Go for it! Granny will like them!"

"I'll do it when finals are through."

"Awww. Onee-chan, why?"

"As you know, I am in a very academic mood today. Me and others were talking about Japan at the end of the Edo Period."

"Oh." That wasn't a subject that interested Yui one bit. "You're no fun."

After dinner was over and the dishes were washed, Ui returned to researching the period, going on her Wiki bender. In recent months, she had been making a habit of scouring through the world of online references to see what new delights were waiting relevant to her studies that it was taking time off her work playing rock and roll. Student first, clubber second.

Yui walked in, a bit sleepy. "Onee-chan?"

"Sup, Yui? Need something?"

"Oh, nothing. I just like seeing you studying, that's all."

"You know me, Yui."

"I do. Eheheheh." She closed the door and skipped merrily back to her bed to call it a night and get some shuteye.

* * *

The next day, Azusa Nakano had an impressed look on her face as she, Yui and Nodoka Manabe talked. "Wow, so Ui-sempai is pushing to get 100 on the final, huh..."

"Pretty much," Yui said. "Onee-chan will stop at nothing to get this done, I'm afraid."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not really, Azunyan; I was only being facetious on my reply."

"Facetious, Yui?" Nodoka asked, adjusting her frames.

"Yeah, facetious, Nodoka-chan."

"I didn't know you could use big words like 'facetious.'"

"Onee-chan told me what it is and what it means."

"Oh? Tell me what it means, then."

She tilted her head to the side. "It escaped my mind." Nodoka put a palm to her forehead while Azusa had to use the window desk to prevent herself from falling over due to shock.

"Don't use words that you can't remember the meaning of, Yui!" Azusa groaned. As Yui talked with Nodoka about her student council escapades, she looked at the window and saw Ui look at some textbooks. For the first time, Ui brought her laptop to the campus. She has to rub her eyes to believe this. Azusa knew that Ui was serious about making the grade, but seeing her this serious was something new.

"Anyway, take a look, Nodoka-chan," Yui said to her frames-rocking compatriot. "She is dead serious." They turned to Ui. "And look, onee-chan even brought out the laptop."

"Yikes. I hope she doesn't break it, Yui."

Azusa was still fascinated by it all. "Onee-chan studies so hard that she fell asleep in the middle of the night," Yui said.

It was only fitting that Azusa smiled at Ui's commitment to excellence. That was the least she could do. "That's what Ui-sempai does best, guys," she said to the others, who nodded.

Club practice was jettisoned in favor of more studying, but there was the matter of passing by for a little R&R. "Hey look guys," Ritsu said to Ui, Tsumugi and Mio, "there's a bargain on sale."

"A bargain?" Mugi asked. Given her upbringing, she was used to purchasing products at a premium.

"All the goods of the season go on sale," Ui explained. "That is a bargain."

"That is dynamic! I didn't know about that!"

"You know," Ritsu said, hands behind her head in typical Tainaka tomboy fashion, "once we are done with finals, I want to go buy some clothes."

"Good idea," Mio replied.

Something caught Yui's attention. She ran over to a stash of clothes in the center of the store and looked at the tags. "Holy shit, these things are 30% off! Yui will love this."

"Your fashion sense seems to be a bit on the questionable side, but if it's for Yui, then we are fine with it," Ritsu deduced.

Afternoon came to the Hirasawa house, and Ui was back to checking some historical information on her laptop in the living room while sipping on some iced tea and chips purchased from the FamilyMart. "Ah, so to reform the military," Ui read, "the government instituted nationwide conscription in 1873, mandating that every male would serve in the armed forces upon turning 21 for four years; followed by three more years in the reserves. One of the primary differences between the samurai and peasant class was the right to bear arms; this ancient privilege was suddenly extended to every male in the nation. Furthermore, samurai were no longer allowed to walk about town bearing a sword or weapon to show their status as in former times.

"And this led to a series of riots from disgruntled samurai. One of the major riots was the one led by Saigo Takamori, the Satsuma Rebellion, which eventually turned into a civil war. This rebellion was, however, put down swiftly by the newly formed Imperial Japanese Army, trained in Western tactics and weapons, even though the core of the new army was the Tokyo police force, which was largely composed of former samurai. This sent a strong message to the dissenting samurai that their time was indeed up. There were fewer subsequent samurai uprisings and the distinction became all but a name as the samurai joined the new society. The ideal of samurai military spirit lived on in romanticized form and was often used as propaganda during the early 20th century wars of the Empire of Japan. Fascinating."

Another munch of a chip, another sip of a tea, and Ui decided to do some cooking. However, she noticed something was wrong. "Uh oh. I think we're out of Kikkoman."

"Ehhh, what's wrong onee-chan?" Yui asked.

"We're out of soy sauce!"

"That's not good. You want me to do a run for ya?"

"That's all right, I can do this."

"Awww, but onee-chan, I want you to do well in your final! And besides, you're in the middle of making dinner, right?"

Ui noticed that Yui was skipping side to side. She could sense it, and gave it some thought for a little bit. "No, I'll go ahead and do it. I think you will buy sugar or salt instead, because I know your purchasing tendencies."

"Awww." She slinked back to her room. "I hate you, onee-chan."

Ui took a look at her watch. "Well, I better do this before they close." With a dash, she was off.

"Ahhh, there you are again, Ui-chan," Grandma said, returning from her recent chat. "Running an errand?"

"Quick and on the money, Granny."

"So, did you like the veggies I cooked for you?"

"Yui was hogging her share of the stash, but yeah, it was good."

"I'm glad. What do you need to buy?"

"I have to buy some Kikkoman because we ran out."

"Aha. I have just the thing." She walked inside and brought out a spare, unused bottle. "Premium tamari, first pressing, superior quality from the Chubu. Bought it yesterday, too. Yours."

"Whoa. This is some hardcore stuff. Thanks, Granny!"

"Anytime, anytime." Ui pumped a fist in triumph. She wouldn't have to go shopping at the Famima for the Kikkoman today. "By the way, good thing you got here; I wanted to tell you about something."

"Oooh. What is it?"

Grandma produced a paper. "Take a look at this."

Ui took a look. It was a tempting advertisement. "An entertainment tournament?"

"You know, they have this sort of thing every year, but apparently there aren't a lot of entrants this year."

"Not a lot, huh?"

"Nope, not a lot. So I'm thinking this. Ui-chan, how about you compete in this one? You could earn something big from participating in this sort of thing!"

"Me?" Ui was stunned. "But why?"

"I am sure at the people at the shopping district that you and your friends frequent will be glad to see a young person like you participate as well."

Ui had to consider the timing of this invitation against finals coming up for her folks. "Hmmm..."

"And I want to see you play you good friend, Gitah the Guitar, too."

"Hmmmm." She was still considering the timing of the whole ordeal. "When is this?" She took a closer look. "Holy cow. This is on the day after finals are over."

"Is there a problem?" Grandma asked. "Did you have any plans?"

"No, it's just that this is going on after finals. We won't have ample time to prepare for this. And I haven't even run this through to Ricchan, Mio, Mugi and Azunyan. They have to give the OK before we can go through with this."

"I see. You know, I wonder if Mr. Shige is going to be at this one, too. His magic tricks are always a delight."

"I would have no problems competing in this, but I do have to run this to the others. I don't want to blindside them, tempting as it may be."

"Really? You will take part?"

"Yes. I will compete in this."

"Wonderful! Thank you, Ui-chan. I hope your friends will agree with you. I would love to see you all on stage in person."

Ui smiled. "You betcha!"

"One more thing. The grand prize is a hot springs vacation. You can go with Yui-chan if you want."

"You know, Granny, I always have an affinity with hot springs. It really gets my motor running for some reason. Must be the blossoming of my youth."

"Hey onee-chan, I'm hungry," Yui moaned back at the house as she came down the stairs. Ui was busy preparing some tofu, arranging the contents with pinpoint accuracy and cunning precision.

"Give me about 10 minutes and you will be filled to your heart's content," she replied.

"Ehhhh, but I don't wanna wait that long."

"You know, Grandma once told us that good things come to those who wait. 10 minutes—well, now it's 9 minutes—that much time really isn't much to ask."

"Hmph," said Yui with a pout. Finally, dinner was ready. Eager for a morsel, Yui dug right in. "Whoa, this is really good with soy sauce."

"This is no ordinary soy sauce, either. It's tamari."

"Tamari? What's that?"

"The original Japanese soy sauce. It closely resembles the one imported from China centuries ago, and it's from the Chubu region."

"Amazing. Who brought it?"

"Granny."

"She did it again, onee-chan, she did it again!" As Yui happily dug into the tofu with her hunger put at ease for one more night, she noticed the ad that Ui brought. "Hey onee-chan, what's this?"

"It's an ad for a tournament at the shopping district after finals. I think maybe I'll change my mind and not go. What do you think? I'm going to return the tamari anyway, because we really wanted to just try it out."

"No, onee-chan, we should keep the tamari and you should go for it. Granny is looking forward to seeing you on the stage, right?"

"That's true, but still...it's the day after finals. Mio, Ricchan, Azunyan and Mugi may have second thoughts about this, and I won't have enough time to practice and prepare."

"Onee-chan, why are you putting yourself down like that?"

"No, I was being realistic. It's questionable timing."

Yui stood by her older sister initial opinion of entering the contest, a palm and chopsticks extended. "Don't worry onee-chan, I know you will work hard on multitasking those two better that I ever could in my entire life!"

"Have you even tried multitasking?" she deadpanned.

"No, only bumming around." Ui chuckled.

"Guess I'm going to have to do some balancing then." She was doing this for her younger sister too. Ui knew how much Yui wanted to be in the hot springs with her, and such lewd thoughts and visions raced through her head for a few split seconds before the two of them went back to finishing their dinner. Hopes were high at the Hirasawa house.

* * *

It was time for Ui to run this through the rest of the band the following day. "An entertainment tournament?" Ritsu asked, scratching her head.

"Yep!"

"That sounds like fun," Tsumugi replied, clasping her hands.

"But wait a minute," Mio interjected, "that's on the day after finals."

Ui's laughter reeked of sheer bitterness. "And I knew someone was going to have reservations about this. That's why I'm going to do this myself." The other three were stunned. "You guys all have studying to do, so I'll be okay."

"But you do too," Mio replied, "even though I still suspect this final exam won't be problematic for you."

Tsumugi had her reservations. "Are you sure you're gonna be fine going through this alone, Ui-chan?"

"I decided that I can multitask and balance this. For the next several days until the final, I will go with one hour studying the subjects, one hour studying chords and techniques. That's the drill when I'm at home."

"So why didn't you decline the invitation?" Ritsu wondered.

"I wanted to make my grandma, who lives next door from us, happy."

"Your grandmother?" Mugi asked.

"Well, see, here's the thing: Yui and I were raised by our grandma since we were little, so I wanted to give something back to her after all these years."

"Ahhh, I see." Mio figured the rationale plain and simple.

"She told me that she wanted to see me on stage. If I win this thing, I will give her the hot springs vacation as her present." Ui turned to Ritsu. "Hey Ricchan, Granny somehow reminds of you."

"Ehhh? What's that supposed to mean, and which part are you talking about?" she shot back in a manufactured old-hag tone. It was the exposed forehead the she was covering.

"Pretty obvious. The one you're covering."

Tsumugi was moved. "That is so wonderful," she said, clasping her hands. "I always like those kinds of stories, like the one about the turtle and Ryuuguu Castle, or the umbrella for the monk statue."

"You know something?" Ui said to Mugi. "As if by coincidence, I took some time to check those fables out for a bit online before I got some shut-eye last night. They do tell a message, no question."

"Don't they?"

"Yep."

"So you guys are talking about folk stories?" Mio wondered.

"They are," Ritsu said, bored to shreds.

Mugi proceeded to grab Ui's hand in support. "I want you to go for it. If there is anything I can do, I will be more than willing to help you, all right."

Ui smiled. "Aw gee, thanks Mugi. I knew you would. During breaks, I would love to get some yummy snacks to get the fuel going."

"I knew she was going to bring that up," Mio said to Ritsu.

"Inevitable. Anyway Ui, what are you going to do by yourself?"

"Well, since this it is an entertainment tournament..." One of the weird idiosyncrasies regarding Mio Akiyama was her tendency to think well out of the box, even delving into the bizarre. "Hey Ui, you don't do plate spinning on the side, right?"

Ui blinked. "What?"

"I'll take that as a no. Sorry."

"I don't spin plates, and I'm still scratching my head as to how you got that thought across. I'm planning to play my guitar and sing."

"A solo by Yui?" asked Ritsu.

Tsumugi was thrilled. "Wow, I'm so excited."

Now Mio was considering helping Ui's cause out. She saw it as a possible opportunity for the band to get its name out. But she couldn't say it just yet.

"Bloody heck; I can't believe you are making a debut as a soloist."

"You know something," Mio replied, "I think she's going to make some jokes all over the place and that will be it."

Ui couldn't believe the indifference she was sense from Mio and Ritsu. "Awww Mio, what did I tell you? I'm going to be playing." Mio and Ritsu had to laugh at the possibility of Ui playing, singing, and making bad jokes all at the same time. Perhaps she should have added "entertainer/comedian" as a fourth option on that blasted career survey.

A few members of the track team's 110m hurdlers prepared for the prefectural meets as Yui ran this news to Azusa and Nodoka. "An entertainment tournament at this time of the year?" she asked Yui.

"Yep."

"Why? Doesn't she know she has finals?"

"That's onee-chan's decision."

"Wow, Yui," Nodoka remarked. "I knew your older sister was confident, but this is bloody ridiculous!"

"Or maybe she's not thinking straight like Pint Shot Riot," Azusa added.

"That, too," Yui said, "but that's how she is." She spotted an insect fly by the three of them and the rest of Class 2-1. "Oooh, a moth. Anyway, Granny next door, who takes care of us, recommended it to her." Azusa looked at Yui with a surprised look on her face. "Onee-chan is fired up for this."

Azusa wondered if there was any way she could help her out. She still asking herself why Ui would take her chances at finals and risk putting on a mediocre performance at the shopping district. If the band was with her, the chances of Ui winning the hot springs vacation would improve drastically. But all of them had those exams to burn through, and these were not the easiest of exams to take. She could do one of two things: either let Ui do her own thing because she is capable, or have all five members join forces to rock the shopping district and make a strong case to win the grand prize.

She weighed these options for the longest time before her name was called to go through the hurdles. Azusa watched one of the other students stumble on the second to last hurdle while the other finished without a hitch.

* * *

Azusa Nakano loved to bike. Outside of playing guitar and going through the academic gauntlet at Sakuragaoka, she enjoyed riding on her bicycle around the city. She had a fond appreciation for the environment around her, loving the scenery and just savoring the life she lived. She was a fan of Lance Armstrong and cheered for him as he made his jaunts up and down the mountains of France and Spain, a success story forged from breaking loose of the chains of cancer. On average, Azusa rode 20 kilometers a week, and most of that distance was covered on Sunday afternoons, when all was quiet and the hustle and bustle of the daily commute was nowhere to be seen.

She was heading back home on her two-wheeler, fresh from purchasing the latest groceries for her well-traveled parents when she noticed Ui practicing her guitar by the riverside. True to her own promise, she had done her hour of studying and it was back to running through the progressions on Gitah.

Azunyan walked her bike before meeting up with her. "Ui-sempai."

"Oh, hi Azunyan. How are you doing?"

"Just fine. I didn't expect you to be here. You're practicing out here?"

"Well, I can't use the music room before tests and if I'm at home, Yui might think I'm being a bit too loud, so I am stuck using this as an alternate site. So the story goes." Azusa walked over and sat next to her. "Running errands, Azunyan?"

"Yep."

"Hope you didn't mistake the soy sauce for the sugar, cause that's what Yui would do if I let her run errands."

"You didn't let her run errands yesterday, did you?"

"I did it myself."

"I see. Well, I never let that happen anyway." Ui continued to lazily strum Gitah as Azusa looked on. She turned to the river, the waters of the Sumida flowing towards the Pacific in due time. It was time for her to ask the question she had been itching all this time to ask. "So you're really going to compete in the entertainment tournament?"

"You know it. Yui must have told you."

"She did."

"Well, it's my first time going solo, so I don't know what to expect, to tell you the truth."

"You're doing this yourself?"

"Correct."

Azusa had her reservations. "But what about the others?"

"Well, we're going through finals at this point, and I don't believe I should give them a bigger burden by asking them to play with me."

"Will you be fine going through this?" She was still not convinced.

"Yeah."

"While studying for finals?"

"Yep. I'm gonna give it my best shot."

"Unbelievable." Azusa bowed her head and frowned, internalizing the consequences of Ui's decision. She didn't understand why the others chose not to throw their support towards Ui. Then again, she didn't know yet that Tsumugi already offered her assistance in the cause. But the fact that Mio and Ritsu were indifferent to this personal mission was something Azusa didn't come to terms with. She had to do something about this quandary. "I understand," she said.

"Huh? What's up?"

"I'm going with you."

"Azunyan..." Ui couldn't believe it. "You are? Are you sure?"

"Just like you, I also study on a daily basis and I won't have any issues on my tests. You still are going to do a little bit better than me, but that's beside the point."

No sooner had she said that when Ui gave her a nice glomp of relief. "Oh, thank you Azunyan!"

"In any case, we need to choose a song and practice."

"I've had a few new ones that I had been writing. Alternatively, we can choose one of our earlier pieces."

"Good idea." She got ready to get back on the bike and take off. "All right, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"You take care, Azunyan! See you." And Azusa was off.

"So Azusa is going with you, huh?" Mio asked Ui the next day.

"Correct-a-mundo!"

"You know," Ritsu said, "while you were on your way up her, me, Mio and Mugi—a.k.a. the earlybirds—were vociferously debating amongst ourselves as to whether we should enter or not."

"Aaaaand?"

"Just the two of your sounds good, too," Tsumugi remarked.

"Ahhhhh."

Azusa walked in. "Hey Ui-sempai!"

"Azunyan, how are ya?" She showed her a paper. "What could this be?"

She was clearly fired up for this one. "I made a schedule."

"Ooooh, a schedule. Lovely. What does it say?"

"Well, first we have to go back to the library and study."

"And what else? So long, snack time, as an aside."

"I'll give you the details when we head down there."

"See you guys in a bit!" Ui said to the others with a salute and a belly laugh before walking down the hall.

"Take care, Ui," Mio said.

"I can't believe Azusa-chan can be so reliable," Tsumugi said.

"Just like the folks on the silver screen can leave it to Beaver, I suppose we can leave it to Azusa at this point," Ritsu remarked.

Mio concurred. "Roger that."

* * *

"So did you finish the practice problems?" Azusa asked Ui back at the library.

"Take a look." She handed the solutions over.

Azusa responded with a nod. "All of them correct."

"I want you to take a look at this."

"Hmmm, what is it?"

"Some more good stuff on the Meiji Restoration. It seems that ongoing debate continues between historians as to the historical legitimacy of the name "restoration", as opposed to a "coup" or "revolution". There are reasons to call it all three."

"Ohhhh."

"So, advocates of the term "coup" would point out the fact that there was a change in only the regime, with the fighting confined to the elite, which managed to avoid being spread to the rest of society and that there was a shared sense of national mission and class values. However, this term only refers to the political leaders—not commoners. More importantly, it also does not represent the wider historical context of the period, and the various ideological struggles of the time in addition to the subsequent radical changes of society.

"The direct challenge to the legitimacy of the Tokugawa Regime in 1868 identifies this event as a revolution. This term also implies an anticipation of subsequent radical changes and indicates that the regime was toppled through the combination of concerns and actions of different groups. This term is problematic because it gives the false impression that rebels had unified or coherent plans for the future and it does not account for the relatively peaceful transition or how much actually stayed the same within the country.

"So, the events of 1868 can be viewed in terms of a restoration because the opposition made claims that the Tokugawa Shogunate had usurped the power to govern from the emperor. This claim as well as the strictly isolationist sentiments of the times is an accurate representation of the event, in some ways. The word restoration implies a focus on the elite ideological debates but does not address the regional and religious tensions of the period. It also undervalues the strategic nature of restorationist claims and gives a false impression of unity among the rebelling houses. The most detrimental implication of this term is that it offers no concrete explanation of how ordinary people came to accept the legitimacy of direct imperial rule."

"And this is all going to be on the exam?" Azusa asked.

"I talked to Miss Sawako this morning and she told me that the information on the Meiji Restoration will be on there."

"I'll just go ahead and jot down the important text from that vignette, Ui-sempai." So she did.

Nodoka was looking at the proceedings in a state of wonderment. "I didn't know your older sister was that much into history, Yui."

"She keeps nagging me about industrialization this, Mutsuhito that," she said nonchalantly. "It gets on my nerves, but you can see that she wants to do well."

"Maybe too well. Has she ever slowed for once."

"Only to cook dinner, I think."

Nodoka just had to laugh. "Really?"

"Pretty much."

* * *

Later that afternoon, both Ui and Azusa were practicing by the river. "So first we need to decide what song we're going to play," Azusa said, bringing out Muttan.

"I hear there will be a lot of senior citizens at this one, so we may have to consider something soft."

"Maybe enka will work." Ui drew out the lyrics of the chorus for Fuwa Fuwa Time in enka mode. "Or maybe not. Singing it like that will not give you the grand prize. It's kinda..."

"Well, I'm trying to put a little muscle into it," she explained.

"An enka version of Fuwa Fuwa?" Azusa couldn't begin to imagine how much that would backfire.

"Try it too, Azunyan." She did, and Ui noticed something different. "Your body is spinning around, not your fist." Azusa tried it again. Ui sighed. "You're a long way from grasping the soul of enka."

She admitted as much. "I'm sorry, but I cannot do enka music."

"All right, then how about a folk song?" Ui suggested, holding a candle.

"Why are you holding a candle?"

"I got this from the Famima before I came here. You sing without putting out the flame."

"Oh God, what kind of a training is that?"

"Let me show you. Here I go." Ui took a deep breath before letting it rip. "The party of Kokiriko is seven sun's and five bu's..."

"You're doing the Kokiriko Dance?" It was one of the traditional dances of Nanto City in Toyama Prefecture, the spirit of the Gokayama region.

She went on. "The sansa of the window is-!" Azusa had to question why Ui had to let the Wikis get the better of her here and froze. "Here, it's 'dederekoden', Azunyan."

"Eh?"

Ui continued to sing. "The sansa of the sunny sky is-!"

"Dedereko..."

She interjected. "More!" Ui tried it again. "The sansa of the window is-!"

"Dedereko-"

"More! The sansa of the sunny sky is-!"

"Dederekoden!"

"I think we can do this, can't we?"

Naturally, Azusa flat-out disagreed with the premise set by her sempai. "Fuck man, I feel like I just lost the game. Either that, or I should just hang myself right now because we are simply getting nowhere with this!"

Grandma came calling from above the stairs, waving. "Ui-chan, there you are!"

"Granny! How are you!"

"Fine as always. I bought some meat pot croquettes from the store." She produced a package for Ui.

"Thanks as always, Granny."

"I heard from Yui-chan that you were here. You sure are practicing hard."

"We are. This is Azunyan. She will be performing with me."

She made her introduction, bowing. "I'm Azusa Nakano. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Hirasawa."

"A pleasure, a pleasure," Grandma said, heading back home. "Don't push yourself, Ms. Azunyan."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Man, these croquettes are awesome," Ui said, devouring her share of the spoils. "I tell you, FamilyMart makes some of the tastiest snacks on the planet! Well, that and Mugi's house."

Azusa agreed. "Yeah, these things are pretty good. Your grandma next door seems to be a pretty nice lady."

"I'll let you in on a little secret: her seasoned rice and bean curd sushi are spectacular. I'm trying to cook the same thing, but it just doesn't have the same pizzazz as Granny's."

"You seem to share her cooking styles, Ui-sempai."

"I guess I do."

"She seems to treat you and Yui like a couple of cats being fed."

Ui had to laugh. "I don't think I can dispute that analogy, and I won't waste my time doing it."

"Still, we need to give it our best shot." Azusa's assertiveness was at an all time high, and so was Ui's.

"You know it. So what do you think our stage name should be?"

A bird watched the waters run down the town before flying off into the afternoon sky. "That's a good point; we're not Hokago Tea Time when it's just the two of us."

"Maybe we should call out act 'Sempai, Kouhai'? How about that?"

"No, I'm not going to emphasize the obvious."

"Okay, how about 'Ui and Azunyan'?"

"I got something better. How about 'Ui-Azu'?"

"Hmmmm." Ui thought about it. "Ui-Azu...I like it. It has an interesting feel to it. Let's go with that."

"Anyway, we should pick a song right about now."

"Indeed. So what do you think might be a good choice?"

That was a straightforward decision for Azusa. "I think Fuwa Fuwa would be the easy way out. We should do that."

"Fuwa Fuwa Time..." The enka was going to be in Ui's head for quite a while. "Actually, I have a better song in mind."

The sun was setting over Tokyo in glistening fashion. Such was the time of the season.

* * *

Miss Sawako Yamanaka was feeling down the following day. She could not believe her bad luck as she passed by Ui, Ritsu, Tsumugi and Mio outside of Class 3-2. Ritsu had to find out what was going on. "What's wrong, Sawachan?"

She put a hand on her shoulder. "I need snacks! Why haven't you been having your tea parties recently?"

"This is why we have Mugi on board," Ui said to Mio. "And blame the school for having finals at this time of the year, Miss Sawako." Back inside the music room, Ton-chan was snacking on a few pellets.

Ritsu assuaged her teacher. "Yeah, it is right before tes-'"

She interjected. "So what? Which is more important: me, or some stupid rule this school has?"

Ritsu was forced to make a decision. "Uh, the rule." She was the wild one of the bunch, but even she had standards that she lived by.

As the hall emptied out, it was time for that 50 minute Japanese History B final that started at 10:05 a.m. JST and ended at 10:55 a.m. JST.

For Mio Akiyama, the questions asked were nothing new to what she went over. She knew what to expect and capitalized on the predictability, going through every question and double-checking to be sure that was the decision she made. It took her 30 minutes to complete and review.

Tsumugi Kotobuki knew the answers to this final, but took a fondness to how the test was laid out, including the arrangement of the questions. She internalized the importance of each and every one and realized how she became enamored with the tradition and heritage of her homeland. It only took her 25 minutes to complete and review.

Ritsu Tainaka had some difficulty answering the questions but otherwise come out all right from final because of some last-minute cramming over the evening at Mio's house. The answer had to come like one shot of lightning, then another shot of lightning and then another. Tossing an eraser as she went along to keep the train rolling, she cruised past the exam in 35 minutes.

Ui Hirasawa completed the exam in 15 minutes and used another 15 to review and reflect on the questions and the answers she made. She knew that every answer she put in was correct and even the teacher and proctor figured that she was going to fly past this as if it was just a piece of homework. No sweat. If Yui were to be given something like this, she would sleep through it. Not her. She was one focused machine. 15 minutes could save 15 percent of more on car insurance in America, but for Ui, it could give her another perfect 100 on a final.

Jun Suzuki took 20 minutes to complete the exam but wasn't sure of two or three questions. Nevertheless, she gave it her best effort and was expected to fly past it. For the most part, she was very confident in the answers she put in because of the afternoons she spent in the library. She eschewed her jazz club and student council meetings to do this, and they complied. After all, they were students first, club members second.

* * *

With the finals already out of the way, it was time for Ui and Azusa to play for the masses at the shopping district in their 32nd Annual Entertainment Tournament. Up on stage was a folk musician playing a shamisen.

Jun, Yui, Sawako, Ritsu, Mio and Tsumugi were all in attendance, as well as Grandma, looking on with hope.

Sawako had provided a couple of specially designed red yukatas with yellow obi and white trim for Ui and Azusa, who had their hair tied back with red bows. "I like this music," Ui said, taking a deep breath.

"Me too. Could you believe that we are up next?"

"I personally can't believe it." Ui grinned.

A bell run, signaling the end of that act. "Thank you very much, ma'am," said the event MC. "Next is entry No. 14: The Ui-Azu duo."

"We're up," Ui said to Azusa. "Let's go."

"Right!"

They both walked up to the stage with their guitars to the sound of applause. "Hello world!" Ui said in her hilariously unabashed tone. "My name is Ui Hirasawa, a senior at Sakuragaoka High, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"And I'm Azusa Nakano, a junior."

"Together, we are the Ui-"

"-Azu..."

"...pair!" They applauded as the two of them completed their introductions. Grandma stood up and laughed at the spectacle.

"More of the same," Ritsu said to Mio.

"Azusa seems to be a bit tense for some reason," Tsumugi said, clapping her hand.

"I'm starting to get a bit nervous," Mio admitted.

"You know, first we thought of doing an enka for you guys," Ui confessed, "so we were both practicing spinning our fists."

"Not that fist, you fool!" Azusa said, whacking Ui with a paper fan provided with the costume.

"Azusa is now in on the jokes," Mio said, her anxiety level eroding.

"Hurr, hurr, hurr," Ritsu proclaimed. "They came ready."

Ui went on, "I'm the sempai, but Azunyan is the shrewd one."

She broke out the paper fan again. "If you're going to say that, then I'm reliable, you idiot!"

"Ouch." That brought a reaction from a few elderly gentlemen in the front. "Anyway, with that out of the way...here we go!"

"Let's do it!" Azusa was raising her fist. The crowd was anticipating a song.

"Wait, what were we going to do again?"

Azusa got the paper fan out. "Will you get a grip already!" Down it came.

"Owie!" The old farts were loving it. "How mean of you." Yes, they were McLovin' it. Ui raised her plectrum in the air. "Anyway, we will play Fude Pen-Ballpoint Pen, Ui-Azu style. How about it?"

"Dedicated to every one of you. Thank you for coming. Let's do it."

"1, 2, 3..."

Ritsu, Mio and Tsumugi were stunned at the new arrangement. It seemed a bit out of place. "What the hell?" Ritsu wondered. But if they were to play the original arrangement, it would alienate the audience. This was an arrangement Grandma and the others would be pleased with.

* * *

_I can feel my brush pen_

_tremblin' once again_

_as I try to write to you my greeting card_

_with a fiery passion_

_overflowing action_

_I will burst and be a shining star_

_your smilin' face is all that I can see, now_

_baby I will show you all that I can be_

_gotta take this chance, it could be my last_

_gonna turn and face towards you_

_all this love that I feel, I will prove that it's real, I will write it down for you_

_in the hope that you will see, baby you and me, our love was meant to be_

_I will show you my dreams, filled with love so it seems, as the words dance in my heart_

_you can do it brush pen, you have come this far my brush pen_

_I'm being quite serious..._

* * *

The bell rang, "Thank you, Ui-Azu pair," the event MC said. "Next, Entry No. 15: Mr. Kotaro Yoneyama will be playing his shakuhachi."

"That was quick," Ui said to Azusa as they both headed backstage.

"It was."

Later in the afternoon, Ui presented a package of tissues to Grandma. "This was a prize for participating," she said, bowing in disappointment.

"So this is for me?"

"I wanted to give you the vacation, but..."

"Awww, I don't really need the vacation. It's the thought that counts, thank you. You both were amazing, I will say that." Grandma clasped her hands. "You've really grown up, haven't you, Ui-chan?"

Ui blushed. "You always say that..." She was embarrassed, but humbled, at the compliment. "Eheheheh..." Win or lose, Grandma was there to support her every step of the way.

"By the way, I made lots of open sushi for you. Let's eat it with Ui-chan and the others."

"Beautiful! Let's go, Azunyan."

"Yes, ma'am," she replied.

"By the way, are there any sweet mushrooms in there?"

"Oh yes, they're in there," Grandma replied. They weren't going to go hungry for the rest of the night, that's for sure.

* * *

Sakuragaoka's founder was donning a sun hat the following day. "Yep, as expected, another one-double-zero on the history," Ritsu noticed on Ui's test score.

"I never lose," she said victoriously, her middle and index fingers forming a V.

"What is it?" Jun asked. Mugi and Mio also meant to find out.

"Wait a second here," Ritsu said, looking at the other finals. "All 100 on all five finals? You sure didn't miss a beat from the last exam!"

Ui had to reiterate. "I told you, I never lose! I study, build on the important subjects, and even do some research while working on my guitaring."

"We didn't expect anything less from you," Jun replied, the honesty shining on her lips.

"Well, Ui," Mio added, "you did put in a lot of effort into this."

She smirked. "I try."

"You know, I wanted to be in the entertainment tournament, too," Tsumugi said.

"All right, the next time there is something like that, we can do it as Ui-Mugi!"

Ritsu put a more-than-friendly hand on Mio's shoulder. "How about Ritsu-Mio?"

"I'd rather have Yui-Mugi-Mio-Azu," Mio said, knowing that Ritsu would sabotage any chances for their group to win something other than tissues.

"The hell you do! Come on, Mio, let's do it, let's do it!"

Ui knew where this was going. "Oh, so now you, Mio and Mugi wished that you were with me and Azunyan. Ricchan, you had your chance, you know?"

"I'm serious; it will all work out, it will all work out!"

"I'm tired with you all. I'm heading downstairs." The others chatted amongst themselves in their episode of Monday Morning Quarterback as Ui reclined on a wall outside, took out a hayseed, and looked at the sun. "Summer break can't come any sooner..."

* * *

**END CHAPTER 9**

A/N: English translation of "Fude Pen Ballpoint Pen" courtesy of TheParuProject.


	10. Hells Bells

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 10:**

**Hells Bells**

**

* * *

**

One of Tsumugi Kotobuki's major affinities was cell phones. She was given her first cell phone at the tender age of six, and learned how to make phone calls with friends, neighbors, her parents, and send messages to everyone. Pretty soon, she started a collection of cell phones with different brands, from Samsung, to Nokia, to LG, to Sony Ericcson, to Motorola. It was an exhibit of the history of telecommunications in the past decade on display at the Kotobuki combine.

Nokia, however, was her favorite brand because she was part-Finnish, and her father did have a stake in the ownership of Nokia. Indeed, the phone that Mugi began using was a pink Nokia N96, and she got this for a bargain. It wasn't the most advanced of the phones in her collection, but she liked the sleekness of it all. And visually, it was compatible to her liking.

"So this year, Finland is going to be pretty warm, but comfortable because of the winds from the Baltic Sea," Mugi types on her pad. "20 degrees centigrade." As she got off the train station to head down to Sakuragaoka, she noticed Miss Sawako Yamanaka talk with a passer-by about something before she drove off. Sawako really felt lonely and needed someone to be with. Perhaps this was the reason, but it would be too obvious. Tsumugi needed to know.

Back at Class 3-2, it was back to the daily grind for Sawako, with new information being brought out, Ritsu Tainaka slacking off again, and other students looking to her for pointers. "Homeroom comes first, am I right?" she asked Ui Hirasawa, Ritsu, Mio Akiyama, Tsumugi and Azusa Nakako at the Light Music Club upstairs, who all checked in to see how she was doing. Her feet were hurting and she they had to be given a hot water treatment.

"Yes, Miss Sawako," she said, pouring the water into a bucket for her teacher to dip her weary feet in.

"There are classes from first through third period, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, I also had to send a student home after she collapsed from anemia during lunch break. Next, I was patrolling the school for students skipping class during fifth period. Finally, after school, I was overseeing the Sakuragaoka Brass Ensemble practice for the upcoming competition, am I right?"

Ui nodded. "Mmm-hmmm. Looks like you've had quite a busy day, Miss Sawako. Such is the life of a high school teacher."

She bowed her head. "Indeed."

"Well, to be honest with you," Mio said, "you were standing up all day."

"True," Ui said. "At the pharmacy near my house, they sell health sandals. I think those would work like a charm."

"That won't work," Sawako said. "The freshmen still think that I am an elegant teacher."

Ui frowned. "Awww. That's a drag, isn't it?"

Ritsu had another suggestion in mind. "Hey, how about you just talk about your Light Music Club days to everyone? You can be like, 'Actually, I was like this!' and stuff." She showed the photo from the scrapbook, sassy as ever.

"Oh, hell no!" wailed Sawako. "Anything but that!" She grabbed the photo immediately.

"What?"

"You don't understand the situation, do you?"

"What don't I understand?"

She was in Shaolin monk mode, Sawako was. "In the knock-down, drag-out world of education, dropping your guard for even a little while can cause very bad things to happen. If such a past was leaked out...the walls of the school would be littered with graffiti and the doors and windows would be destroyed, turning the hallway into an alley you see in the ghettoes of town! When I tell my students, all decked out in their heavy-ass makup and dyed hair, that class is about to begin, they will tell me to shut up and fuck off and all that stuff. Then they will call me Sawa-chan and tell me that back in high school I was like this, so they are essentially copying some of what I did with my band. It might turn into something like that! I don't want that!"

"For a homeroom teacher, you sure got quite a vivid imagination," Azusa noted.

"Thank you." Sawako's phone rang. Ui and Ritsu noticed as she picked it up. "Excuse me for a bit," she said.

"You're actually gonna pick it up?" Ritsu asked, nonplussed.

"Hello?" The ensuing news stunned her.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Ui also wanted to know.

The tone in her voice was serious. "W...Why are you calling at this time of day?" The others looked at her with suspicious stares and piercing eyes. Sawako should have left the room to do this. "W...Wait just a moment." She left the room.

"Something seems to be up," Azusa deadpanned.

Ritsu had a sadistic smile on her face. This was too good to not keep tabs on. "W..Why are you calling at this time of day?" she said, imitating Miss Sawako. Ui and Mugi laughed at the improv, while Mio and Azusa smiled.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me of something," Mugi recalled. "Something happened this morning regarding Miss Sawako."

The others looked at her with amazed expressions. Bam! They had a lead.

* * *

Later that day, the five of them took a stroll to talk about Tsumugi's recent discoveries. "So something like that happened, huh?" Ritsu asked her, stroking her chin. "She was driven all the way to school and then had an argument. Then she was surprised by a sudden phone call after school. Thus, dear sisters of Hokago Tea Time, if you think about it, the person must be Sawa-chan's..."

Tsumugi was shocked. "What?"

Azusa was, too. "No friggin' way!" Both of them considered the shocking possibility of Sawako having a boyfriend, or even worse, a fiancee.

Ui thought about it. "This wasn't her mother, right?"

"I don't believe so, Ui-sempai."

"Why not?"

"The circumstances aren't childish." Actually, Mio, Mugi and Ritsu were amused that Ui came up with that possibility.

Mio turned and saw someone familiar in the distance. "Well, speak of the devil." They all turned.

"Hey, it's Miss Sawako!" Ui exclaimed. "Is she waiting for her ride?"

"Remember that suspicious behavior I was telling you about?" Ritsu said as the others hid behind a tree. "This is it."

Mio noticed something else. "She's going in the opposite direction she normally goes, too."

"Got a little bit of the gumshoe in you, Mio?" Ui asked her.

"All right," Ritsu said, "we're gonna follow her. Hang on tight, sisters; we're in for a fun one."

Ritsu was about to use her stealth tactics when Azusa intevened. "Wait a minute. Are you sure this is okay? I mean, if we do something like this and get caught..."

"Don't worry, don't worry. Just leave it to me."

"She turned left," Mugi said. "Let's go, you guys!" She was on it like an Easter bunny.

Azusa hoped for the best. "Oh my friggin' God...Mugi's really on it now!" They had no choice. They all followed her.

* * *

The five of them followed her undercover to a railroad crossing. Sawako was waiting for somebody next to a few bike racks. "All right fellas, target confirmed," Ritsu said. They were all hiding 100 meters away behind a column of a building near the station. "Be sure to focus on observing the right side, Ui."

"Roger that, Ricchan."

"Mugi, you observe discreetly without letting Sawachan notice."

"Roger that," she said.

Mio saw what Ritsu was doing there. "So, we're going with a stakeout, is that it?"

"Precisely."

"That reminds me," Ui said, producing a package of anpan and a carton of milk from the nearby food stall. "Here, Mio. Take it."

"Damn, you are true to the form!"

Azusa noticed a change in Sawachan's behavior. "Something seems to be bothering her."

"She's getting into the spirit too!" Mio was amazed that the others were that serious about going into stakeout mode.

"Her state has been confirmed," Yui said.

"No way," Azusa gasped. "Is it really..."

"But I thought she said she's been lonely by herself for quite a long time," Tsumugi wondered.

"Well," Mio sighed, "there has to be a lot of other issues she has to deal with, too. Not just being a teacher." Mio, Ritsu and Azusa were on the left side of the column while Ui and Mugi were on the right side of the column. The others all looked at Mio as if to suggest that she knew something about Miss Sawako that they didn't know.

"A lot?" Ui asked.

Mio was forced to clarify. "No, I don't really know anything. This is just out of common sense and logic, guys."

"Well," Ritsu remarked, "you're so beautiful, Mio, that it's not unusual that the boys and the girls at both campuses are all crazy for you day and night."

"That's true," Azusa agreed.

"Did you really have to say that?" she shot back. "And why the hell did you bastards have to make this conversation about me now? Dammit! I swear, man!"

"Well done, Mio!" Ui said.

"Don't add to the whole thing as you go along, you punk!" Tsumugi gave a long stare at her three sizes and visualized what she was wearing underneath her vest, shirt and skirt. "And don't stare at me, you yuri-obsessed perv!" She stood up, her face as red as a tomato. "I'm not interested in those things! It's more like this: the Light Music Club is my lover at this point in time." Her back back was turned to the others at a distance as a Pizza Hut deliveryman made his next run down the street on his moped. Mugi, Ui, Ritsu and Azusa applauded. Mio immediately gave Ritsu a headbump for bringing up the subject.

"The hell is wrong with you, you bitch?" Ritsu exclaimed. "Fuck!"

The five of them noticed Sawako talking with somebody. "Sorry for being late," her friend said.

"Hey," Sawako replied, "didn't I tell you to never call me while I'm at school?"

"Sorry, it was really urgent."

The five of them looked on, their hopes for tabloid-worthy material seemingly dashed.

"It's a lady," Ui said.

"What could this be all about?" Azusa wondered.

Tsumugi, being the yuri fangirl that she was, pictured the possibilities. "A woman..."

"Hey Mugi," Ritsu said as Mio groaned, "you don't have put your mind into the gutter on our watch, okay?" They knew her well. They all did.

* * *

The crew followed Sawako and her friend to Oishii Hamburger, a popular fast-casual restaurant in town that was established only a few years ago. Ui, Mio, Ritsu, Mugi and Azusa peered from the bushes behind the dining tables to eavesdrop on the conversation going on. "Bastards, we just had to follow her unannounced," Mio whinged, exasperated. Boy, did she really want to give that shyster Ritsu another headbump.

Ui's eyes had "Suspicious Minds" written all over it. "We're caught in a trap, I can't walk out, because I love you too much baby," Ui sang. "This is just like one of those live-action dramas."

"Oooohhh, that fox," Ritsu said, in character. "I think we got us some taxes to collect."

"They can hear you," Azusa replied.

A waitress at the cash register noticed the five of them peering. "Um..."

"Yes?" they asked.

"will that be a party of five?"

"Yes!" they chorused. Sitting in a booth far away from those two would work wonders for them. "I think sitting down here in the back will do," Ritsu said, bubbly as she got to her seat."

"And we're in out uniforms," Ui said. "I wonder how this will turn out."

Mugi saw next to Mio on one side of the booth, while Ui, Azusa and Ritsu were scrunched on the other side. "Mugi," Mio whispered, "put your head down."

"Right." She did. The others were having a difficult time putting their heads down, and their instruments were in the way.

"Azunyan, squeeze in more will you?" Ui asked Azusa.

"Well why don't you move over there, please!"

"Bah, you're mean." She didn't notice that Gitah was leaning precariously on the edge of the seat, and it fell to the ground. Ui went over to break its fall before it incurred some damage. She then went under the table

Sawako's friend peered over to see what was going on. "What's wrong?" Sawako asked.

"Nothing, nothing," she replied.

Ui breathed a sigh of relief, but noticed that She was under the table, and could see the panties of her friends. They were shiny little things, and Mio was again wearing her stripes. Oh, how predictable that Mio Akiyama was! "That was close." Gitah was not damaged, which was the nice thing about it.

"Hey Ui, you stay there, all right?" Ritsu asked.

"I can see the legs of my amigas, so clean, so shiny, so moe..."

"Oh dear Lord, did you really have to go there?"

"I had to go down here to go there, so, yeah."

"We'll give you this," Mugi said as Azusa offered the anpan package.

"I'll pass." She went back up between Azusa and Ritsu, struggling for air.

"Don't force your way in," Ritsu said, pushing her aside.

"And shut up already!" Azusa added. Ui was pinballing her way back forth between the two of them.

They all turned to see Sawako chat with her friend again. "Ahhhh, I see. So the place that you're talking about is over there?

"Correct," she replied.

Azusa, Ui and Ritsu let out a collective sigh of relief. Their teacher didn't notice. Ui turned to both of them. "Oh, wait a sec. That person..." It seemed a bit familar to her.

A waitress walked over to their table. "May I take your orders?"

"We'll have five red teas, please," said Ritsu, opting to order on the cheap.

"We have a drink bar over there," she replied, pointing to a fountain on the other side of the restaurant.

"No friggin' way," Mio deadpanned. "Ritsu, just order something."

Ritsu and the rest were consigned to Oishii Hamburger's menu. Ritsu herself was going to have to choose one of the more cheaper options because they didn't have much to spend as a band. "What to order, what to order...all right, we'll order the chocolate cake."

"One chocolate cake," the waitress noted.

"That's isn't just for yourself, right?" Ui asked Ritsu.

She had a cunning pair of eyes. "Can't help it."

"Okay then," Azusa said, "I'll have the pumpkin pudding a la mode, and make it vanilla for the scoop."

"It's vanilla by default," the waitress said. "You want that?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Thus she wrote it down. "One bowl of pumpkin pudding a la mode, vanilla."

"Hmmm," Ui said to Azusa, "there's an exciting dessert like that, huh."

"Says so on the menu."

"Cream anmitsu for me, please," Tsumugi said to the waitress.

"Good choice," she said, writing it down. "One cream anmitsu." That was also the most popular item on the menu for visiting tourists. Of all the dining establishments near Sakuragaoka, Oishii Hamburger's interpretation of cream anmitsu was among the finest.

"Yep, that's a good choice," Ui said. "Yui would be getting a heart attack if she were here, by the way."

"Aside from the obvious, have you decided what to order yet?" Mio asked.

"Not yet. There's a lot of good stuff here to order. So many choices, so little time, so the story goes." She took a look at the menu. "Found it." It was a tall parfait with kiwifruit, strawberries, pineapples, cherries, crepe wafers, whipped cream and Pocky sticks, topped with three scoops of Rocky Road and three scoops of strewberry ice cream drizzled with strawberry sauce. For some, it was a diabetic's worst nightmare. For others, it was a wedding destroyer and a diet buster all in one. But for someone whose metabolism would not change after eating something like this, it was heaven sent. And if she wanted to make something like this herself, she could study the ingredients, no problem. Then it was all a matter of procuring them and arranging them in said fashion. "I'm taking this parfait to the bank, waitress," she said, her eyes turning into hopeless spirals.

Azusa was unimpressed by the exuberance. "Knock it off. And we've officially forgotten what our mission this afternoon was."

"One jumbo parfait," the waitress said, writing it down. Ironically, Mio didn't make a decision as to what dessert she wanted and chose to sit this one out.

Ritsu gave her parfait-crazy partner a stern warning. "By the way, you've got to pay for what you order, all right?"

She brushed her hair aside and chuckled. "Don't worry, it's all taken care of. Actually, I'm going to change my order, ma'am."

"You will?" the waitress asked. "All right, what would you like to order?"

"Hurry up already," Azusa said in deadly fear, "they're gonna see us!"

She spoke too soon. Sawako's friend did notice the five of them eavesdropping from their table and smiled. Ui, Mio, Ritsu, Tsumugi and Azusa froze and gagged.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Sawako asked her friend.

"Nothing, nothing. Don't worry about it."

"You sure? Liar. You keep looking that way." She turned around.

All Sawako could see was the waitress waiting for Ui's order. "I'm not sure how long I can stand here waiting, because I do have other customers who need to be helped," she said to the five of them, who were obviously bending over to hide their faces from Miss Sawako. Ui would go with her original order, and she was able to pay her own way, since she received extra allowance from Grandma and her parents.

"Anyway, I want you to think about it over the week, all right?" Sawako's friend said to her as the two of them left Oishii Hamburger.

"You are so insistent. I will. Thanks a lot for dinner!" she said, taking off.

Tsumugi, Mio, Azusa, Ui and Ritsu were hiding behind a delivery van in the parking lot, watching those two go their own separate ways for the evening. And Mugi was still holding the anpan package, which was dying to be eaten.

Ui sighed. "That was one heck of a parfait," she said to the others. "1480 yen plus tax. Thank goodness I got extra to spare. I thought it was going to be worse."

"Could have been...if you ordered two," Azusa replied.

"That's true. I liked the presentation behind that parfait. Looked exactly as advertised."

Mio could not hide her frustrations from Mugi. "So in the end, we just couldn't find out who that person was."

"Disappointing, I know."

"Actually, I know that person," Ui said.

They all turned to her. "You do?" Mio asked.

"Yep."

"That was one of the people with Miss Sawako in the old photo."

"Old photo...oh!" Mio realized that there was, indeed, a photo in the scrapbook that had all four members outside Shibuya: Jane, Catherine (a.k.a. Sawako), Christina (a.k.a. Norimi Kawaguchi) and Della. Was the possibility of a reunion in the cards? But that was one of the more interesting conclusions she could come up with. It was interesting to the point of absurd, inconceivable. "That's the Death Devils."

"It's Christina." Sawako's friend, Norimi Kawaguchi, said in an annoyed tone that surprised Mugi and turned Mio into stone.

"Well hello there," Ui said. Azusa and Ritsu were equally surprised.

"My apologies; did I scare you guys a bit?"

"Not really," Ritsu said, "this happens all the time, to be honest."

"All right. So you guys are the Sakuragaoka High Light Music Club, I take it?"

"That's correct," Ui replied. She turned to the others. "Hey you guys, there's another detective here to turn all of us to stone!"

"Will you quit it with the detective stuff already?" Azusa pleaded. "It's played. Anyway, we're wearing our uniforms and carrying guitars, so those were dead giveaways right there."

"True, true." Ritsu sighed.

Norimi went on. "As a Light Music Club alumnus, there is something I wanted to talk about. Who's the president of the club?"

She froze, coming to terms with who she was dealing with. "Mio is," Ritsu replied.

"Jackass, that is your role," said Azusa.

"Ritsu Tainaka is our president," Ui clarified. "Mio Akiyama is our VP."

"Aha," Norimi said with a nod. "Got it."

* * *

Evening came across the Kanto plains, which meant that Norimi treated the five of them to some oden. "Mmmm, this is some good stuff," Ui said. "Hope Yui won't mind me being this late tonight."

"You mind if I take a look at your guitar?" Christine asked her.

"Sure, go ahead."

She brought it out of the case. "Hmmm, you sure are using a nice one. Good condition, it's a Gibson, a high quality Les Paul with superior acoustics...you got it made."

"Thank you."

"You know, it's been quite a while..."

"Hmmm?" Norimi decided to play a little country on the Cherry Sunburst to pass the time while the others awaited their order.

"That is a pro right there," Mio said, beyond impressed.

"Damn, you might be better than Miss Sawako," Azusa added.

Norimi was humbled by the compliment. "Oh, well thank you. You know, me and Sawako always compete over our guitar skills every day. It's a friendly rivalry that made our band stronger, more distinctive."

"Is that so," Ui said, mystified.

"By the way, go ahead and order whatever you like. It's on me. Pops, go ahead and give these girls another round of juice."

"You got it, Nori-chan," the chef said with a nod and a smile.

"Nori-chan?" Ui asked.

"My name is Norimi," she said. "Norimi Kawaguchi. It's a pleasure to meet all of you."

"So she isn't a foreigner after all."

Ritsu snuck a dirty, sleazebag expression to her hairclip-rocking friend. "Well isn't it obvious?"

"Still, why Christine?"

"That's my stage name when I was with Death Devil," Norimi explained with a laugh. "I did introduce myself a little bit late; my apologies. Again, if there's anything else you want to eat, go ahead and order it. It's on me."

"What a very nice person," Ui and Ritsu chorused.

"I'll order some ganmodoki," Tsumugi said. Those were fried tofu fritters made with vegetables, egg white and sesame seeds, and were said to taste like roast goose.

"All right," said the chef, "one order of ganmo it is."

"So you like that stuff, huh?" Azusa asked Mugi.

"Well, I haven't seen it before. But the name sounds cool, doesn't it?"

"You think so? Hmmm."

"So what did you want to talk about?" Mio asked Norimi, chugging down another glass of beer.

She took her sweet time to reflect, and then she spoke. "Well, it's nothing important, but..." Norimi was feeling woozy, but she went on. "Actually, Sawako is getting married."

The news struck the others like a runaway train running right off the track. "EHHHHHHHH?" The shock nearly shook the foundations off the oden establishment. Meanwhile, Norimi continued to play some random tunes on Gitah. "That was a joke."

The others sighed and bowed their heads in shame. "A joke?" Ritsu exclaimed, annoyed. "The hell that was! You don't make a joke out of weddings unless you want to be an otaku or NEET for the rest of your life!"

"I should correct myself," Norimi said with a sigh. "Someone else from the old light music club is getting married and wants us to perform at the reception. But Sawako doesn't wanna do it, that's the problem."

"Well, that's because Sawachan chose to seal away her past with the light music club," Ritsu explained.

Norimi laughed. "So that's what you like to call her, huh? She's been telling me that others at the school have been calling her that, too."

Mio and Mugi admitted as much. "Here's some ganmo," the chef said, handing Mugi the tofu.

She was fascinated by the design, the texture. "Amazing...but it looks more normal than I thought it would be."

Azusa was shocked at Mugi's response "What the fuck were you expecting, some alien food from Mars?"

"Close, maybe something sharp and thorny."

"Sharp and thorny? Mugi-sempai, ganmo is tofu with vegetables and sesame seeds! It's nowhere close to something that you can't digest!"

"Looks like I stand corrected."

Ui looked at Norimi with a sense of amazement and wonderment "She is awesome," she said to herself, studying her fingering and strokes.

"Oh, sorry if I was hogging your guitar here. Here you go." Norimi handed it back.

"No worries, thank you." Now it was Ui's turn to play a little bit.

Norimi was impressed by her technique. "You're not bad."

"She's like that all the time," Mio remarked. "Our best guitarist on the band. She can also play other instruments, too, but she prefers her guitar."

"I can see that."

Ui played a few notes from the very first track of AC/DC's "Back In Black" album before seguing to the number as the evening rolled along.

As the six of them left the oden stall, Ui had something in mind. "You know something?"

"What's that?"

"I think we might be able to help you here."

"Okay, sounds good. I'll leave convincing Sawako up to you girls then."

"Sawachan is very stubborn, though," Ritsu said to Norimi.

"What's up? Why are you being so hesitant about this from the start?" She thought about it for a bit. "If you can't convince her to do this, then..."

"Then what?" Mio asked.

Norimi pointed to both of them with a fire in her eyes. "You guys better get ready for some special training."

* * *

"Ladies," said Miss Sawako back at class the following morning, "today's English class will be a self-study. Please be quiet, all right?"

"Yes, Miss Sawako," they all said.

"Thank you."

Ichigo Wakaouji, one of the leading members of the school's rhythmic gymnastics team, was dozing off as Mio heard a voice. "Ms. Akiyama, it's from Ms. Kotobuki," said Fuuko Takahashi, who sat to her left.

"What could this be?" Mio whispered.

"Take a look!"

"Hmmmmm. Thanks, Fuuko."

"Anytime."

Mio read the paper. "Mio-chan, have you thought of anything?" It was clear that Tsumugi chose to take the lead because the current incarnation of the band wanted to send one of its former members off in style. After all, they were all bonded by the same club, the same school, and the same desire to rock and roll. This didn't take rocket science to figure out. So it was up to Hokago Tea Time to give its Death Devil-sized salute.

Mio gave it some thought, then responded in writing before sending it through Fuuko, "You know, Mugi, I thought of a lot of ways we could approach this over the evening, but if the alums can't convince her to go, then there really isn't much we can do."

Mugi frowned, then replied in writing, "Well, the other teachers and our journalism club is going to the reception. I want us to do something for her." The two of them traded messages for a while as Yuuko Sasaki and Fumie Kimura reviewed sentence structure.

"Maybe it would be okay if we put on some makeup for this one."

"But we would have to consider if we're noticed, you see."

"Good point. Anyway...what does Ui think about this?" She handed the paper trail across the room. Two minutes later, she got her answer and tilted her head to the side as if she knew this was coming before she sent the message.

"We'll use that as something to work with," Ui said in her memo. "By the way, Mio, you're writing is so awesome I wish my nose could bleed."

"What does Ritsu think about this? She's the prez, after all?" And she handed the note over. Another two minutes passed, and she got her response...an obvious caricature of Ui's Grandma with googly eyes. She tried her best not to laugh out loud. "You son of a bitch, be serious about this, dammit!" Mio resent the note. She ended up receiving a caricature of Sawako in her Death Devil mask, conducting a rock orchestra of some sorts, saying, "...and three, and..." Mio, through her controlled guffaws, was due to give Ritsu a headbump after the period ended.

"Akiyama?" Miss Sawako asked Mio.

"Miss Sawako, it's nothing!"

She picked up the paper. "Did you draw this?"

"No, ma'am."

"A-ha..."

"You traitor!" Ritsu wrote. "I am a pen."

Tsumugi looked to take one for the team. "It was me!" she said, raising her hand.

Sawako was shocked. "Kotobuki?"

Mio was caught off guard. "Mugi?"

Tsumugi got up. "I started the letter exchange, so Mio-chan isn't at fault."

Sawako was touched by her confession. "I-I see, but..."

"So is it okay for me to stand out in the hall?" She was serious about this, Mugi was.

Both Mio and Sawako were shocked that Tsumugi chose to be gung ho about this. "What? No, you don't have to."

Mugi was insistent, and sparkled when she reiterated her stance. "I want to stand out there, Miss Sawako. Please let me stand out there!"

"Well, if you stand out in the hall, everyone else will have to. Are you fine with that?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

She opened the door and sighed. "Stand out in the hall till the period is over."

* * *

Tsumugi was living the dream yet again. She heard about delinquents having to stand out in the hall, but she never got to experience the trope firsthand. Now she got her chance, but the other three weren't so pleased to join her outside in the corridor. For a few moments in her lifetime, she was one of the bad girls.

"Mugi," Ritsu said suspiciously, "were you really that hellbent on standing out in the hall?"

"Yep! So this is what it feels like. This so wonderful."

"Hey, I can actually reach the Class 3-2 sign," Ui noticed, stretching to give the placard a good rub. "God bless this classroom."

"Thus, one of my dreams from elementary school has finally come true after twelve long years of waiting."

"Five more than a seven-year itch, huh?" Mio grunted.

"Something like that. Now I will graduate with no regrets whatsoever."

Ritsu was pointing out something else. "Unfortunately, Mugi, the rest of us do. Except for maybe Ui? Ui, what the hell are you doing?"

"Still stretching and touching our class sign with lovely older sister love," she said, getting her gams in shape.

Ritsu put a palm to her forehead. "You might as well stand out here in the hall for the rest of the class day." Tsumugi beamed while Mio looked on with contempt.

"Anyway," Mio said, sensing this as a serendipitous opportunity for the club to make their move, "aside from the paper trail earlier, what are we gonna do?"

"Eh?" they asked.

"You guys remember what Ms. Norimi said last night?"

"I think so," Ui recalled. "But that's because I said to her that we would go ahead and help her out."

"I think she said that we were going to do some special training," Ritsu said.

"So that's what it was, huh?"

"You forgot, didn't you?" she said, pointing to Ui in an accusatory manner.

"No, I haven't."

"That's only because I told you."

"Touche."

"I wonder what she means by special taining, though," Mugi wondered.

"An alumnus's special training would probably be some tough practice," Mio said.

Ui cracked her knuckles. "You know guys, I always, always love a good challenge. This is it."

"But it's not like we're a sports club or any of those professional teams that you see on TV," Mugi replied to Mio. Naturally, intense training and intense practices were part of the trade in those departments.

Ritsu, being the spunkster that she was, begged to differ. "No, to set an example for our Light Music Club...she'll want us to go through drills, like 'Okay, practice until I can hear the sound.' And in spite of our jamming, she tells us 'that's not good enough, that's not good enough, that's not good enough. You're not gonna rock the wedding reception the way it's supposed to be rocked. Try it again!' Or she may tell us this, and we don't have our instruments, and Ui points this out. She says, 'Music is something played by the soul, right? Even without instruments, if you play with all you heart and soul, you'll be able to hear the music! Go!' Then we say, 'Okay!' and we are improvising without our instruments. Norimi then says, 'Dammit, I cannot hear anything, you worthless pieces of shit!' And then we all cower in fear, saying 'Sorry!' Something like that!"

"For real?" Ui and Tsumugi exclaimed, the reaction startling Ritsu like a flock of seagulls.

"Hey, stop with the bad jokes and horror stories already," Mio said, unamused by Ritsu's vivid imagination.

"That is one surreal scenario you brought up, Ricchan," Ui admitted.

Mugi wondered if she'd been had. "That was a joke?"

Eventually, Ritsu decided that the band should come clean with a resolution. "You know what, we should talk it over with her after school. What do you think?"

No sooner had the others thought about it when Miss Sawako opened the door. "How long are you guys gonna stand there? Self-study is continuing, so come back in."

"Oh, I thought we were going to be out here for the rest of the period," Ui asked.

"I changed my mind. You can come back in."

"Yes, ma'am!" the others said. They looked at each other and knew what they had to do.

After class, Ui, Mio, Ritsu, Tsumugi and Azusa went to the office to look for Miss Sawako. "Excuse us, Miss Sawako," Ritsu said as she slowly opened the door. They noticed that the journalism club was taking photos of Miss Sawako, posing with a couple random freshmen in the office.

"Thank you very much!" said one of them.

"This is a bother to the other teacher, so leave quietly, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am. Excuse us." They were off.

"Miss Sawako is getting more and more popular, isn't she?" Ui remarked to the others.

"I guess it's now becoming a bit difficult to ask her at this juncture," Ritsu replied, a conceding expression marked on her face.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, the five of them met up with Norimi back at the oden shop for a brief chat. "We couldn't talk with Miss Sawako about this because she was busy with a lot of stuff today," Mio said to her.

"I see. Sorry to hear that. Everybody that I have talked to in the past few days—from old teachers to people around the community—they all admire who Sawako is now. She doesn't have any immediate plans of changing that at all."

"Yeah."

Ritsu chimed in. "So anyway, what was the special training about?"

"Oh that?" Norimi laughed. "That was actually a joke." She changed her tone again. Norimi was notorious for this back when she was a student at Sakuragaoka. "Of course it wasn't." The others froze, gasping in horror, and she laughed again. She loved the reaction. "Well, I do want your assistance for a bit." She handed each of them a CD. "Take a listen to it. THis will come in handy."

Soon after they got the details, the five of them left campus, quietly internalizing the current situation at hand. Soon, the green light flashed, and they walked as one down the street. The plan was now in effect.

Back at the Hirasawa house, Ui was studying some music that the band played. There were four songs Death Devil recording on CD: "Maddy Candy", "Hell The World," "LOVE" and "Genom". It was a different sound for Ui, but a fascinating one, speed metal, hard, fast, and with a lustful finish. It was a thing of beauty when approached in the right manner. "Well, well, well, this is gonna be a bit of a challenge," Ui said, interpreting the chords and the technique. She had to review this several times to make sure that it wasn't anything beyond her comprehension. It turned out that it wasn't, but barely. But one she had the technique and the whole motions in order, Ui got a foundation to work on.

"Hey onee-chan, what are you doing?" said Yui, yawning as she made her way down the stairs.

"Practicing the chords for a new song that I plan to play later on," Ui replied. "I'm going where no guitarist in my family has ever gone before."

"But aren't you the only guitarist in our family?"

She pointed at Yui. "Incorrect. You're a guitarist, too. I'm the only serious guitarist in the family."

Yui scratched her head. "Is there a difference?"

"Key word: serious."

"Ohhhh. Eheheheh." She paused for a moment. "Hey, onee-chan?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"I think adults are some of the most amazing people I've ever seen."

"Why do you ask?"

She looked at the ceiling. "Will I become an adult when I grow up?"

"Well Yui, we're all going to be adults eventually. And we're all gonna do amazing things at some point in our lives. You'll be off doing something, I'll be off doing something, my friends will be off doing something and your friends will...that's life, you know. That's my meaning of it, at least."

"Wow."

Ui put her guitar aside. "Did you want me to give you some juice, Yui?"

"I'll just have some tea, dear sister," Yui said in a posh tone.

"All right."

After she poured some hot tea for Yui, Ui went back to studying the chords of the songs, jotting their down, simulating the patterns and tabs—note by note, beat by beat, melody by melody—it was a foundation sure to get the bells ringing. Hells Bells, maybe. Ritsu, Mio, Tsumugi and Azusa figured to suffer all the same. Pleasure for pain. A simple premise.

* * *

The day of the wedding reception came. A large bouquet of flowers was laid on the table, along with a pink bunny for the bride, a blue bunny for the groom, and a card that said: "Welcome to our Wedding Reception, Keisuke and Mihoko."

"Congratulations," said one of Mihoko's friends. She noticed a familiar sight walk in, putting on a brave face as she went along."Sawako. Long time no see."

"Hello there," she replied. "I'm sorry I'm not able to perform. A lot has happened since I've become a teacher. It's been quite a burden."

"I suppose it has." Mihoko and her friend looked at each other and laughed. Life went on for every one of the band members.

"Don't worry," Mihoko said, "we're looking forward to it."

"Eh? What do you mean?" Something was going on.

It was decided by the band, with Norimi's advice, that they would play the role of Death Devil.

"Now this is out of sight," Ui said, donning a red blouse with spaghetti straps, long black gloves, a choker with a chain a black belt, a red and black skirt and a pink star on her left cheek. "I look like I'm ready to break out a little Pat Benetar today."

"You are?" Mio asked. Her hair was tied back as she sported a cut-out biker jacket over a ripped teal shirt, aq black choker with spikes, black denims, a light blue band on her right elbow, a silver string belt with a blue sapphire charm dangling, and a read heart on her right cheek. "For your information, 'Heartbreaker' is one of my favorites."

"You know what? I kinda like this, too," Tsumugi said. She was wearing a long purple overcoat draped over a black tank top with a star, black cut-out pants and two black belts, and a shamrock under her right eye.

"Damn, you overdid it, Mugi-sempai," Azusa said as she adjusted her twintais. She chose to keep it simple, wearing a black spade under her right eye while and going for a long black dress with a white waistband over a white halter top to go with long black gloves.

"Hey Chief," Norimi said, "I want you to use this to blow fire out of your mouth." She produced a flamethrower that was used at a number of Rammstein concerts three years ago.

"The heck?" Ritsu exclaimed. "How am I supposed to do that?" She was going for a white shirt with a sideways eye and orange buttons around the nxck over a black sports bra, a black skirt with a white belt, black pantyhose, and a light blue diamond on her right cheek. All of the band members were wearing lipstick, in traditional Death Devil fashion.

The other event managers were wary of what was developing backstage. "That's friggin' impossible!" Ritsu tried to run off stage, but had to be coaxed back in and convinced to do it.

The lights dimmed out, and the show was about to begin. "Ladies and gentlemen," the event MC said over the loudspeaker, "up next we have a live band, Death Devil, composed of friends of the newlyweds since their youth." Sawako and the others applauded as the girls took the stage. "I would also like to note that this is a special one-day-only appearance."She noticed something different. "Wait a minute, it's those girls. That guitar...it's Ui-chan. Just what the hell are they doing?"

Yes indeed, Hokago Tea Time was in Hokago Death Devil mode today. Of course, Norimi was joining them as well as Jane, reuniting the past with the present. There would be three guitarists: one on lead, two on rhythm, and two drummers. This was going to be fun.

Norimi noticed Sawako across the hall and flashed the devil sign with love and a smile. "You're all gonna get blown away today!" she roared over the microphone.

"HELL YEAH!' the others echoed, flashing the devil sign before they began playing 'LOVE.'

"You know, I was wondering what sort of band they would be with a name like Death Devil," said one of the attendees next to Sawako, "but they seem pretty cute."

"Ah, a fine act that," her husband said. "Well done, that band."

"Watch out for those sweet words of yours, wow, I'm not used to such things," Norimi sang. "I'm on serious alert, wow, but I guess there's no other way..."

"Rock on, Death Devil!" another in the audience said, catching Sawako's attention.

"You go, girls!" her friend said.

As the number continued, and the fans chanted their name, Sawako reflected in her state of melancholy. This wasn't the Death Devil she knew. It wasn't at all. She knew that it was the conflicts and constructive infighting that went on between the fourth of them that formed the basis behind what she knew was her band. At the same time she couldn't because she was a teacher and her image was on the line. She left that part of her behind, but it came back to bite at her, to tear at her, to taint and violate every part of her soul. It was that powerful. There was no way she could do this because she didn't want the students—who toiled night and day to make Class 3-2 the toast of Sakuragaoka High—to see her this way. Soon after, the number concluded, and Sawako realized that she had to swallow her pride and come up on stage. The Death Devil she knew, the Death Devil she pursued...it was her.

She turned off the lights and proceeded to walk on stage. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Don't worry," Keisuke said, "they will be back.

"What is going on?" Mihoko asked.

As Sawako jumped on stage, an event attendant realized that the light were off, and flicked them back on, shaking his head. Norimi nodded, acknoledging her commitment. "Miss Sawako, welcome back to Hell," Ui said.

"It's Sawako..."

Her friend sensed it. "Here we go!"

"Take it away, teacher." Ui handed her Gitah. With a tap of the strings, and a speed picking from the deep below, it was back to action with a soulful solo.

"You all should know what Death Devil is all about by now," Sawako said in a deep, angry voice. "It's not any of that weak-ass J-Pop stuff that you hear on the radio. It's hard, it's mean, it's angry, and it's kicks some ass, motherfuckers!" She let her hair down, taking away her glasses. "I've had enough of this shit! Let's show you what Death Devil REALLY is about!" The audience applauded as they got going.

"Let's do it," Norimi said with a chuckle, acknoledging that the rivalry the two of them had was on for one more night. "Okay, let's go!"

As Sawako, now as Catherine, pointed to the sky, they played the song one more time, but this time Sawako was on the lyrics. Della was their bassist. Catherine and Christine were on guitar and Jane banged the drums. The Hokago Tea Time members observed from the side, watching the power, the intensity, the emotion. It was a thing. Of. Beauty. And Sawako could do this better than the others when singing "LOVE."

* * *

_Watch out for those sweet words of yours, wow_

_I'm not used to such things._

_I'm on serious alert, wow_

_But I guess there's no other way._

_With composure I look down on it, wow_

_Idealism that goes over my head._

_Believing that I could I tried the impossible, wow_

_Ah! Be strong!_

_Calculating so that I can get it_

_I get shown up and fail!_

_But_

_If you fall in love you lose, not._

_You don't really lose._

_Instead of a little devil or seduction_

_Seriously, seriously I wanna be an angel._

_I ask "What does love taste like?"_

_But soon I'll know._

_My own honest desires_

_Are almost too simple._

_Give me a future full of love!_

_Hinting at it with a heart symbol, wow_

_Notice the trap I set already!_

_Give me the answer I've been waiting for, wow_

_Instead of just wavering!_

_Danger! Even now I guess I'm carrying it, wow_

_Some reckless kindness._

_Devastating like a fastball, wow_

_Ah! It's already too late!_

_I do some recon so I can say bye-bye._

_Taking a detour I'm in a pinch!_

_But_

_You can't fall in love, not._

_It's too late to stop now!_

_Instead of bargaining or being stubborn_

_Seriously, seriously I wanna be honest._

_I say "Love tastes bitter"_

_But I'm fine with that._

_It's so simple so_

_I don't need any calculations._

_Love and the future look magnificent!_

_Showing off my plans to get it_

_I get shown up and fail!_

_But_

_If you fall in love you lose, not._

_If it's zero love it ain't a victory._

_Instead of a little devil or seduction_

_Seriously, seriously I wanna be an angel._

_I ask "What does love taste like?"_

_But soon I'll know._

_Searching each other for the love we can grasp_

_The distance between us shortens._

_It's awkward but_

_They're my honest desires._

_Give me some love now!

* * *

_

Soon after, it turned from a wedding reception into a rock concert all over again. Ui was fascinated by the atmosphere Death Devil provided. The emotion and drive that they brought was a thing of inspiration. Mugi, Mio, Ritsu and Azusa were shaking some maracas as they went along. The tradition of Death Devil was in full display, a key part of the light music club that paved the way for the next generation of rockers on campus. Both Death Devil and Hokago Tea Time were bound by the same club, the same school, and the same desire to rock and roll. It was a common thread that would never be broken.

When they finished, Sawako said to the audience, "Do you wanna hear a litle AC/DC?"

"Hells Bells!" roared Keisuke.

"We can do that," Della said.

"Heh, it's a good thing I got this," Jane said, pointing to an event manager dragging a large bell. Taking a mallet, she gave it a good whack, and the bell gave a resonant sound that exactly replicated the toll from the album.

"Ooooh," the audience said. Jane whacked the bell a few more times, in slow succession. Then Norimi played the song's trademark intro, leading into Sawako's quintessential vocals. This time, Hokago Tea Time was performing with them, leaving Sawako with just the microphone.

* * *

I_'m a rolling thunder, pouring rain_

_I'm coming down like a hurricane_

_My lightning's flashing across the sky_

_You're only young but you're gonna die_

_I won't take no prisoners, won't spare no lives_

_Nobody's putting up a fight_

_I got my bell, I'm gonna take you to hell_

_I'm gonna get you, Satan get you_

_Hell's Bells_

_Yeah, Hell's Bells_

_You got me ringin' Hell's Bells_

_My temperature's high, Hell's Bells_

_I'll give you black sensations up and down your spine_

_If you're into evil you're a friend of mine_

_See my white light flashing as I split the night_

_'Cause if Good's on the left,_

_Then I'm stickin' to the right_

_I won't take no prisoners, won't spare no lives_

_Nobody's puttin' up a fight_

_I got my bell, I'm gonna take you to hell_

_I'm gonna get you, Satan get you_

_Hell's Bells_

_Yeah, Hell's Bells_

_You got me ringin' Hell's Bells_

_My temperature's high, Hell's Bells_

_Hell's Bells, Satan's comin' to you_

_Hell's Bells, he's ringing them now_

_Hell's Bells, the temperature's high_

_Hell's Bells, across the sky_

_Hell's Bells, they're takin' you down_

_Hell's Bells, they're draggin' you around_

_Hell's Bells, gonna split the night_

_Hell's Bells, there's no way to fight, yeah_

_Ow, ow, ow, ow,_

_Hell's Bells!

* * *

_

To put the event in a nutshell, this was an evening that no one would ever forget. The crowd rose to their feet in a standing ovation, acknowledging that they were united, still going strong. And they picked a very good song to close off the proceedings at the weddings. Those weren't wedding bells ringing, those were Hell's Bells ringing for the newlyweds. Of course, Sawako realized that everybody found out about her past. The only question was: what would they think of it?

* * *

Well, the answer to that was: awesome, save for a handful. Sakuragaoka's founder looked on with a cool and calm expression the following day. "Ladies of the light music club," Sawako said with a bitter smile, her head on the table, conceding defeat to something in particular, "the race is over."

"Spare us the Dave Rodgers, Miss Sawako," Ui said, sipping her Earl Grey, eyes closed in disgust.

"I didn't mean that. I mean, I worked so hard, and like, there goes the elegant image I wanted to maintain. You catch my drift?"

"Ohhhh, forget it."

"Sorry to hear that," the others said, bowing their heads.

"It's all right, I knew this was going to happen at some point in time," Sawako admitted.

"That's right, you snapped on your own terms," Ritsu noted.

She stared at Ritsu, startling her. "You said you were sorry, right?" Sawako grunted.

"S-sorry..."

A trio of freshmen came knocking. "Come in," Tsumugi said.

"Are you here, Miss Sawako?" asked one of them. They were from the journalism club.

"That's me."

"Can you pose like you did at the wedding? We want to post it on the news."

"Sure thing." So she did, posing with the journalism club members.

"The live yesterday was awesome! You rocked, Miss Sawako!"

"We're looking forward to it again!" another said with an eager anticipation. They took off, heading back to the room where they prepared the pieces.

"What was that all about?" Sawako said to herself.

"Thus, I have come to the conclusion that both sides of Miss Sawako are popular in their own right," Ui said, the others watching outside the music room.

"Of course," Ritsu added, "if you don't do some something like that as a band at the minimum, you won't leave an indelible impression."

"Good observation, Ricchan," Tsumugi said.

"Elementary, my dear Mugi."

"Elementary indeed."

"So maybe we should put some makeup on Mio," Ritsu said enthusiastically.

"No thank you!"

"Awwww, but I really liked the heart, though," Tsumugi said.

"Dammit, Mugi-sempai, I'm still up in arms over you overdoing your outfit last night!" Azusa said.

"You think so?"

"I know so!"

Ui concurred. "She knows so."

"Don't side with her so easily!"

"Too late, I'm already on the ship, and it's sinking fast!"

"Oh, the hell with you, Ui-sempai!"

Inside the archives of the light music club was that of the four members of Death Devil. They were eternally indestructible, and that was the truth.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 10**

A/N: Lyrics translation by Honya.


	11. What You Do For Money, Honey?

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 11:**

**What You Do For Money, Honey?**

**

* * *

**

Summer was rushing into Japan, and the heat waves were going full-speed. No man, woman or child was safe from the blazing scorcher that ensnared the metropolis, and some senior citizens had to seek shelter at the air-conditioned hospitals due to exhaustion. It was that bad.

As for the girls of the light music club, they were busy jamming to their signature piece, "Fuwa Fuwa Time." The school's janitor had all the units in the building installed and working functionally. The music room was left out of the picture because it was used primarily for the clubs, which also was an issue. NO clubs using the music room made a request as of yet.

"Dammit," Ritsu Tainaka said in her moment of agony with a towel on her head, "these drums are killing me."

Azusa Nakano admitted as much. "Pretty hot today, isn't it?"

"Anyway," Mio Akiyama asked the crew, "how is Ui doing?"

She was busy drinking an orange-flavored beverage with Gitah slung across her shoulder. Gatorade. "That's G," she said with a thumbs-up.

Mio was confused. "Product placement?"

"Something like that. And yes, it is El Scorcho down here."

"Not El Kabong?"

"Who's El Kabong?"

"I have no idea."

And thus, a new epithet was born. "Mio 'Ms. I Have No Idea' Akiyama."

"Oh, shut up!"

Ui went to the sofa, and lay down as Tsumugi Kotobuki placed a towel over her eyes. Her right hand morphed into a makeshift phone. "Hello God? It's me, Ui. Listen, I think we gotta talk."

Ritsu, Mio and Azusa looked on with sympathetic smiles. She was making the most out of an unbearable situation.

"No dramatization necessary," Tsumugi said.

"How can you talk to God when you know that he doesn't exist?" Ritsu asked Ui.

"Blasphemy, Ricchan! We do have churches in Tokyo, you know."

"Stand corrected."

"Azunyan, more Gatorade."

"Here," Azusa said, offering a bottle.

She took a chug. "Mmmm. That hits the spot." Revitalized, Ui gave Azunyan a loving cheek-to-cheek glomp and a kiss. "Oh Azunyan, thanks babe! I love you!"

"Right, right..."

Ui turned to Mio. "It's so hot, but I get hotter and even horny when I am this close to Azunyan."

"Obviously," Mio deadpanned with a shrug. She stroked her hair. "But it certainly is getting hot, and your next gets stuffy if you have long hair."

Ritsu's suggestion startled both Mio and Azusa. "Then how about you just go ahead and put your hair up, like a ponytail?" She took a couple of purple ribbon, and tied it back to form twin tails. Now there were two Azusa Nakanos instead of one. "There you go, all done."

Tsumugi noticed the difference off the bat. "Cool, now she looks like Azusa-chan!" Mio was clearly blushing.

"As I thought, it doesn't suit her at all-GAH!" Mio made Ritsu's tie a little bit tighter as if to form a makeshift noose.

"You're the one who did it, sunshine, so don't play with me here," Mio said with a steely glare. Tsumugi soaked in the impending yuri opportunities. She imagined Azusa and Mio as Azusa mingling together as if they were sisters.

"Hey...I can't...breathe..."

Azusa noticed something was wrong with Ton-chan. "Oh no!"

Mugi, Mio and Ritsu meant to find out. "Huh?" They all went to check on their turtle friend as Mio reverted to her regular hairdo.

"What's wrong?" Ritsu asked.

"Oh dear," said Tsumugi. "Ton-chan is..."

He was molting. His old skin was peeling away.

Naturally, Ritsu had her other conclusions to leapfrog into. "Did he get sunburn?" The others sighed. Obviously that was impossible because Ton-chan was kept in the shade inside the music room. No way would anyone—even the members of the club—leave Ton-chan out to suffer.

"No, he didn't," Mio asserted, debunking the logic in two seconds. "As if that's going to happen."

"Aha, so he's molting," Mugi said.

Ritsu, Mio and Azusa were stunned. "Molting?"

"He's molting, huh?" Ui said, alarmed by the special report.

"So turtles molt, too?" Azusa asked Mugi.

"They're reptiles, so they do." It wouldn't be surprising if there were any reptiles at the Kotobuki combine molting at this point in the season. Actually, there were. "A couple of the turtles we kept at home are molting as we speak."

Azusa clasped her hands in wonderment. "Wow..." She looked down and observed Ton-chan going through the process. "Thank goodness. I thought it was going to be something worse, like a disease they get when they aren't given proper care."

"I'm fascinated by this process," Ui said. "Who ever thought that the music room would also be a place to study the habitat of a domesticated pig-nosed turtle like Ton-chan?"

"You did, apparently," Ritsu retorted.

"Wanna buy the rights for 100 yen?"

"I'll pass."

"I'll be your best friend."

"You already are."

"Touché. But did you know humans can molt, too?"

"Impossible. There is no way humans can..." Ui, with one stroke, cast aside her school uniform, revealing her school swimsuit. "...molt?"

"So that's what she meant," Mio said to the others.

Ui gave Mio and the rest a thumbs-up. "Bingo."

* * *

Ui wanted to try something that Yui did everytime it was hot: wear her school swimsuit below her school uniform. She liked the way the black campus Speedo felt: light, stretchy, and with minimal drag to boot. "This feels really good. And it might even be easy to play in!" she said with Gitah on.

Ritsu looked at her with a bored expression. "Your sister is becoming a bit of a bad influence on you. I'll pass."

"Awww, that's too bad." Turning around, she asked the others. "Hey Mio, how about you try putting it on?"

She vigorously shook her head side to side. "No way, no way, no way, no way. No one other than you would ever-" She noticed that an inspired Tsumugi made a quick change to the bathroom to put on her Speedo. "The hell?"

Ui gave Mugi a loving glomp. "See? There's two of us now!"

"No kidding..." Mio's drops of sweat were raining down, and they were doing a job on her hair.

* * *

"I'm looking through you, where did you go?" Ui sang, peering through a tabletop, observing Mio's and Azusa's clothes and bust. "I thought I knew you; what did I know?" She stopped singing. "I wonder if the top of the desk feels cool."

Ritsu turned behind her, wondering what Ui was up to and why she was singing a little bit of the Beatles. "Yo, yo, yo, I hope you're not going to..." Mugi watched Ui crawl on the table, to Ritsu's surprise. "Holy smokes."

"So, how does it feel?" Mugi asked.

"Hmmm, not bad. Try it."

Tsumugi did. "Hey, this feels nice." Mio's expression was one of bemusement.

Ui started to moan with pleasure. "Azunyan, baby, can you give me a massage?"

Azusa rolled her eyes, "Oh, so now I'm a masseuse, is that it?"

Tsumugi felt like she could melt into a pile of goo. "This makes me want to come so much. I want to melt. Oh, I want to melt so bad...ahhhh..."

Mio could sense a trickle of fluid coming out of Mugi. "You just did."

"Azunyan," Ui moaned, "massage me already! Don't keep me waiting!"

Azusa had to swallow her pride. "Fine, geez, it's not like I'm getting paid for this." She worked on Ui's legs and thighs before working on her back. "Her skin is soft and delightful to touch," she said, blushing.

"Ahhhh, Azunyan, not so hard my love, haaa, haaaah, be gentle, I'm like a flower...haaaah...hhhhhaaaah...ooooohhhh..."

"Azusa-chan, massage me too!" Tsumugi said with a pout. With the slightest of touch, Mugi moaned, sighed and giggled as Azusa worked every muscle in her body. "Ohhh, you're like an angel; am I in heaven? I don't wanna...ahhhhh!" The fluid started to stream out, and so did Ui's. Mio had to grab some paper towels. This was getting orgasmically kinky. "I think I'm melting into goo..."

Ritsu had to see this. "Mio, what are they do-AH! Mio, why are you covering my eyes, dammit?"

"If you see Azusa finger-er, massaging Mugi and Ui, I'll kill you!" she said coldly.

After ten minutes, they got off the table. "It wasn't as cool as I thought it would be," Ui said.

Mugi concurred. "Yeah. Quite a drag."

Azusa thought of something as she looked at Ton-chan. She leaned at the window of the tank, hoping it was cool for her. Turns out, it wasn't. "Damn, Ton-chan's tank isn't cool enough, either," she said to Mio.

The sun was burning down on a neglected plan in one corner of the campus. It was hot, humid and miserable, and Ritsu threw her head back. She wanted to die so bad. At least the cicadas were buzzing around.

"Honestly," Tsumugi said to the others, back in her school uniform with Ui, "today is a real scorcher."

"I think we can lose a lot of weight from sweating this much," Azusa noted.

Mio and Tsumugi donned their horse and cat outfits, respectively, as they got back to their instruments. "These will be our sauna suits!" Mugi exclaimed.

"This should be perfect, right?" Mio asked Ui.

"The goal is that you won't be roasting so bad that you can drink a 24-pack of Gatorade and still feel dehydrated," Ui replied slyly.

"Oh boy, again?" Ritsu said.

Mio and Mugi nodded at each other. "Yep." The result was a cacophonous mix of sound that sounded more like Thelonious Monk-style jazz and not HTT's brand of power pop.

"That's not gonna WORK!" Ritsu groaned, unimpressed by the effort.

"Oh god, even though we're sweating," Mio said...

"We can't play very well," Mugi concurred.

"Duh, you're in your outfits," Ritsu said. "That's not exactly for playing, you know."

"And on top of that, I'm not sure that's what Azunyan meant by sweating out the weight," Ui said, scratching her head. "Sweat out the weight, but don't suffocate! I just made a rhyme guys, don't hate."

"Ui-sempai's right," Azusa said. "That's not what I meant."

* * *

And so it was time for something completely different. "How about this," Ritsu said to the others back at the table. "Let's play an association game!"

"What's that?" Ui asked.

"I'll show you. When you speak of summers, you think of...?"

"Watermelons! Definitely watermelons."

Tsumugi chimed in. "Wind chimes!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Ritsu said. "Try again."

Ui gave it some thought. "Oh, this is an easy one: ice cream. Bang."

"Speaking of bang, how about fireworks?" Azusa asked.

"No, no, no, no," Ritsu replied, wagging her finger.

"Well how the hell are we supposed to follow along if you're telling us that these legit answers are not legit?" Ui asked, scowling.

"Try again..."

"Hmph. How about chilled Chinese noodles?"

"Wrong again, wrong again. And everything you answered is food?"

"Correction: summertime food, Ricchan."

"That wasn't what I was going for here."

"Again I ask you, how the hell are we supposed to follow along if you're telling us that these legit answers are tripe?"

"Well, the answer is...ghost stories!" Ritsu said to Mio, jumping towards her. Mio had to slap her away, trembling. "What the fuck was that for?"

"Just as I suspected...you suck at this. Azunyan, Gatorade." Ui chugged, clearly annoyed by Ritsu shenanigans.

"So, ladies of the light music club," Ritsu said with a piercing glare, "here is a story that been going around campus. I got it from someone who got it from someone, who got it from someone, who got it from someone, etc., etc., etc. So, one brave freshman came to this school at night to get something that she forgot. This was just your average, run-of-the-mill student, not too smart, not too dumb, just normal as normal can be. Anyway, as she went up the stairs, out of a music room where no one should have been was the sound of a piano playing."

Mio was sensing it already. "N...Nooooo!" Her nose was turning blue, and her eyes feared the worst as she covered her head in tears. She turned to her right. "Mugi!"

"Just setting the mood," she said.

Ritsu went on, Mio covering her ears and Mugi sweating out what would happen next. "So, thinking that it was a strange phenomenon...she peeked into the music room, and discovered Sawachan diving a music student special intensive training under a single spotlight!"

Mio was flailing so much that she fell off her seat.

"Some horror story that was," Ui said to Azusa with a smirk.

Mio then gave Ritsu a headbump for her actions. "You bitch!" she exclaimed.

"What the fuck did I do?" she whined.

"That is the most annoying shit that I have heard!"

"Anyway, isn't it gonna get any cooler somehow?"

"Azunyan, Gatorade," Ui said.

"We're down to the last bottle," Azusa replied, tossing the final jug of the orange-flavored thirst quencher. "Here."

"We're gonna have to get a new pack of 24 pretty soon," she replied, drinking while cooling herself more with her fan.

"What a beautiful headbump," Tsumugi said.

"And thus, I have discovered another of Mugi's fetishes."

"Another?" Azusa asked.

"Another."

"Anyway Ritsu-sempai, it's not healthy to get all worked up about it." Mio was still worked up about the horror story Ritsu gave her.

Ritsu admitted as much. "The more you frantically fan yourself like this..."

Ritsu burned out while Ui stopped to sip on her remaining Gatorade. "You suddenly get hot when you stop," Ui noted.

Tsumugi had a different interpretation of the proceedings. "I think when you keep thinking that 'it's hot, it's hot', you start to feel even hotter."

Azusa had an idea where she was going with this. "Mind over matter, is that it?"

"Yep. You got it."

"Okay, let's think of cool things, Ricchan," Ui said.

"Cool things, huh? Hmmm..." Ritsu was sold on Mugi's premise. She was going to be sold on anything—ANYTHING—to keep her cool, and so was Ui.

The ocean was an obvious choice. The Arctic ocean, Northern Europe, Canada, Russia, Alaska, or even the waters of the Antarctic. Instead, Ritsu and Ui both went with Hokkaido in the wintertime. The two of them were relaxing on an island of ice, surrounded by a couple of polar bears, a seal, a sea lion and even a wooly mammoth on an iceberg off the coast for good measure.

"It's cool, isn't it Ricchan?" Ui said, visualizing herself in her white string bikini.

"Oh yeah, this is heaven," Ritsu said, visualizing herself in her two-piece of orange and yellow stripes, goggles on her head.

"Mind over matter, right?"

"Amen, amen." She noticed the sun shining.

"So hot," Ui said.

"Don't give up, Ui! Just keep thinking that 'it's cool!'"

"Right!" Such was Ritsu confidence that it rubbed in on her. "It's cool...it's cool...it's cool...?"

The sun was getting warm. "It's cool, it's cool!"

Ui was starting to lose her focus a bit, smoke coming out of her head. Ritsu was winded. "Azunyan...is there any more Gatorade?"

"We ran out!" she wailed. But she noticed a bulge in the seemingly-empty package. "There is one more! Here!"

"Just what I needed." Ui chugged. "That visualization was a doozy."

"I knew it all along," Ritsu moaned. "I can't imagine that it's this cool when it's this hot."

"Now that I think about it," Mio said as Azusa was turning to her, "when we were reorganizing this place, there was an electric fan in the storage room."

She jumped at the opportunity. "There we go! Boom!"

"That might help," Ui added.

Mio went to the storage room to break out the electric fan. "Here it is!"

"Cool."

"We're saved!" Ritsu exclaimed. Mio unveiled the fan with its green blades. Ritsu then realized how small it was. "The fuck is this? This is old."

"We may have to put this at full power for the rest of the afternoon," Ui said to the others.

Indeed, Mio turned the fan to its highest power possible, facing the band. Ui was clearly hogging the fan's power. "Well, I can understand how you feel, but can you quit hogging the fan's power?" she asked. "I got a better idea."

"Hmmm? What's that?"

She positioned the fan at an angle, in Azusa's direction. "The fan reaches everyone like this, right?"

"Yeah, I guess it does."

"Then this should be okay." She turned it on again.

"Ohhhhh yeah." Ui could feel the breeze, a welcoming sight for all the other things they tried. Azusa, Mio and Tsumugi could as well.

"Excuse me," Ritsu said with a drop on her head, "but why the fuck am I getting the short end of the stick again? The fan isn't reaching far enough at all!"

"Well, you're in the back," Mio said. "We can't help it."

"The fuck you can't!" Ritsu grabbed the fan, to the surprise of the others.

"Hey Ricchan, what are you doing?" Ui asked, bewildered.

Mio wanted to know, too. "Ritsu?"

Ritsu placed the fan at an angle behind her drum set. "That's better. Well then, full power switch...ON!" What she ended up getting was a strong gust of breeze unlike any other.

"You know, this reminds me of the Maxell tapes commercials I watched on YouTube," Ui said to the others, "when this guy's cheeks were vibrating. And the Ride of the Valkyries was playing!"

"Oh God!" Ritsu's cheeks were vibrating. But the fan was so out of shape that the blade flew off the base. The band had to duck for cover. The blade boomeranged into a wall near the storage room and just missed cracking Ton-chan's tank by a meter. Then the engine sputtered out, and Ritsu watched a trail of smoke spit out of the fan.

"You son of a bitch; what the fuck did you do?"

"I didn't do anything..."

"God dammit..."

Ui gave it a proper memorial, thanking it for its 10 minutes of service to helping the light music club beat the heat. "Thank you [for your service]," the message said. "I hope we can be together one today. Signed, the Sakuragaoka High School Light Music Club." The janitor would dispose the fan and the blade to a scrap dealer 15 kilometers from town.

It was back to the drawing board again. "We've officially run out of ideas," Ritsu said, agitated, guilt-stricken, sobbing with her head on the table.

"You got some explaining to do, Ricchan," Ui noted.

"Hey you guys," Tsumugi said, returning from the co-op with a blue ice chest, "I brought some ice."

"Brilliant," Ui said. The interesting thing was that normally clubs at the school were not allowed to obtain ice chests from the co-op. Turns out; there was a spare chest that was unused. Nobody at the co-op seemed to mind, and so one of the staff on the premises that was overseeing some clean-up duty by the freshmen staff decided to hand Mugi the chest. And here it was, on the table.

Ritsu could not contain her relief. "The people at the co-op are some nice folks, that's for sure. Saved yet again by Mugi."

Tsumugi opened the chest, revealing a trove of cubes. Ui took hers. "So cold. Man, this hits the spot. If we didn't run out of Gatorade, we'd be putting that in this chest."

"Love that, huh?" Ritsu said to her. She took one as Ui crunched the solid water of life. "Ahah! You're right, this is great."

"Wow," Mio said, taking a cube and popping it in her mouth. "This is definitely gonna beat the heat. Hey Mugi, when did you-ahhh! It's cold! What are you doing?"" Ritsu stuck one underneath her shirt collar.

"Now, now, dearest Mio; it's a promise, isn't it?"

"You know," Mugi said on the cubes, "I was thinking about making some shaved ice with this."

That caught Ui's and Azusa's attention. "Hell yeah!" Azusa loved shaved ice. In fact, whenever there was talk of frozen treats, those two wanted it so bad.

There was one problem, though. "However, I forgot to bring the ice shaver, and the co-op doesn't have one downstairs!" Predictably, Ui and Azusa pouted. Such compatibility.

There was enough ice to fill one of the buckets in the storage room. Ui dipped her feet in the cubes. "Man, this feels so good."

It was a need-to-know thing for Ritsu. "For real?" Giggling with newfound glee, she climbed over to where Ui was sitting. "Me too, me too!" She eagerly dipped her feet in the ice, her spirits restored and her energy back to her own level of normalcy. "You're right, it's really cold."

A lone cicada stood still on a tree, soaking in the heat as the clouds drifted over the Tokyo summer skies. After a time, the ice melted. "It's gotten kinda warm, hasn't it?" Ui said to Ritsu with tired eyes.

She agreed. "God, it sure has. It's hot, so it probably melted like crazy." They were both weary again and their energy levels sunk once more.

"Can you go get some ice downstairs, Ricchan?"

"Huh? You bring some." They were both tired and couldn't do it.

"I'll only do it if you will go down with me to get it."

"I thought you were gonna be the one to take the lead, Ui."

"Teamwork in this case. Anyway, you go get some, Ricchan."

Ritsu had a puzzled look on her face and wondered if her younger sister was becoming that strong of an influence. She figured that Yui was, in her own way, and Yui would definitely not want to come down and help grab any remaining ice downstairs. She had to do something, and started to spasm. "Ow! My chronic hip pain is...it is...!"

"Nice try, Ricchan," Ui replied sheepishly, "but I was here first.

"But the length of time I got to dip my feet in was shorter."

They both were trading light punches. "You go down there, Ricchan!"

"I'm telling YOU to go, Ui!"

"Only if you will go there with me!"

"But I don't want to!"

"You're pathetic!"

"So are you!"

"Ricchan!"

"Ui!"

"Ricchan!"

"Ui!"

"Ricchan!"

"Ui!" They were going at it for the longest time, and they fell over each other, the water splashing on their shirt and skirt. The commotion startled Tsumugi, Mio and Azusa.

"Drop it, both of you," Mio said.

Tsumugi went over to take a look. "Oh my!" Ui was on top of Ritsu, grabbing each other's hand. Mugi's nose began to bleed.

Azusa blinked. "Ui-sempai? Ritsu-sempai?"

"Ritsu, this is not the place for foreplay!" Mio said, dealing her a headbump. She plugged Mugi's nostrils with her tissues.

"Ohhh, Ricchan..." Ui moaned, drawing ever closer.

"Ui..."

"Ricchan..."

"Ui..."

"Ricchan!"

"Ui!"

"Oh God, here they go again!" Mugi said. Azusa put a palm to her forehead while Mio shook her head.

Naturally, both of them had to clean up the spill. This was getting a bit out of hand. "Geez, come on now," said Mio, rolling her eyes.

Ritsu picked up a stray ice cube. "It would be a waste to throw this ice cube away, right?"

Ui had a suggestion up her sleeve. "Well all right then, let's put it in Ton-chan's tank!"

The suggestion alarmed Azusa. "No, you can't!"

They both turned to her. "Why not?" Ui asked.

"We have a temperature regulating device in there, so he'll be fine."

"I was only kidding."

"But your jokes don't seem like jokes at all to me!" Now it was a good thing that Azusa had that guide on maintaining Ton-chan with her in her book bag. "Oooh, here is something interesting. It says on this guide that turtles grow to match the size of the tank. So you would have to buy a new tank in order for him to grow." Ton-chan was still floating around, molting his dead skin while swimming lazily.

Mio knew what Azusa was trying to get with this. "I see, so the fact that he's molting means..."

"He's growing," Ui said. "Ton-chan wants to grow."

"Well," said Tsumugi, the others turning, "I have a lot of larger leftover tanks at home."

"Is that so?" Azusa said.

Mio, Ritsu and Ui were amazed that Tsumugi had all these resources. First ice cubes, and now tanks for Ton-chan. She was on a roll. "Awesome!" Ui said.

"But how are we gonna get it here?" she asked, frowning.

Mio brought up a possible alternative. "Miss Sawako should have a car, right?"

"That's right, she does. Let's go ask Miss Sawako." The only issue was whether or not she would be willing to drag a turtle tank all the way from the Kotobuki house to the school in one day and have it installed.

"And speaking of Miss Sawako, ladies," Ui said, "she hasn't been stopping by recently hasn't she?"

"Ah, don't sweat it pal," Ritsu replied in her swagger-tastic fashion. "If she were here, it would become unnecessarily hotter, right?" She brought up some possibilities, the headband-rocking shyster did. "Actually, what if she's collapsed from the heat somewhere?"

She and Ui giggled, while Mio looked at them with contempt. "That's not something to laugh about, both of you," she said.

Back inside the staff room, the janitor chose to turn the air conditioner on. "Hey you two," Miss Sawako Yamanaka asked Ui and Ritsu, "what are both of you doing here? Did you need something from the staff room?"

They were at a loss for words. The condition in the office was cool, it was tolerable, and suddenly they were feeling good as gold. They wondered why the janitor didn't turn the AC on in the music room. Bloody budget and bloody bills.

Ui and Ritsu nodded at each other, and then dragged Miss Sawako out for her seat. "Hey, wait, where are you taking me?" They brought her to the music room. "Hot damn; it's so friggin' hot..."

"Look at Ton-chan, Miss Sawako," Azusa asked her.

She struggled to get up out of her seat. "Isn't he comfortable in the water, though?" She turned around and saw him swimming in the tank lazy as ever. "He's molting?"

"We'd like to exchange his tank for a larger one at Mugi's house," Mio explained.

"Can we use your car to transport it?" Azusa asked.

Sawako hung her head, suffering like a dog in heat. "What? But that's so tiresome...I don't wanna do it."

Tsumugi returned from another trip to the co-op. They sure were working long hours, the co-op staff were. "Miss Sawako, here is an iced juice float!"

Sawako eagerly drank the whole thing, even eating the mint sprig. "I'll pick it up immediately, captain!" Sawako said, saluting her.

"I thought I was the captain?" Ritsu asked, pointing to herself.

"No, you're the president," Ui said.

"Figures."

* * *

The five of them left the campus in the heat, with Ui and Ritsu feeling the burn the most. Their eyes were tired and weary from the heat, and even Azusa was starting to feel it. At any point, she could be getting that notorious tan (or delicious tan, depending on which peers one gives secrets away to) the whole school knew about.

Miss Sawako's magenta car was pretty compact but it had GPS installed and could carry two turtle tanks, not just one. "Sorry for the wait," she said, pulling down the window.

"Well, since I'm the club president, I'm going to go," Ritsu said, about to wave goodbye.

"Hold it, we all are going," Ui said. "Why the hell does it have to only be you? I personally want to ride in Miss Sawako's car as well." Azusa walked over and was about to open the door. "Wait!"

"Huh? Is there a problem?" she asked.

"First of all," Mio said, "this is Mugi's house we're all going to."

"Thanks," Tsumugi replied.

"Only proper," Ui said. Azusa and Ritsu had looks of defeat. "Okay, so can go in and ride shotgun, while I, Mio, Ricchan and Azunyan squish in the back."

"My car only seats four people," Sawako said, "so I can only get two more in."

"Do you want to go in Miss Sawako's place?" Ui asked Ritsu.

"Okay!"

An annoyed Sawako knew that was coming. "And who the hell is gonna drive?"

"Well, it would have been better if you had a larger car," Ui said.

"Keep in mind that I didn't buy this for everybody in the club to begin with, so don't feel bad," she replied.

"Also, the water tank is rather large, too," Tsumugi added, "so I may have to be the only one to go because it could take up all the space in the car."

"So if the water tank occupies the back seats," Mio said, "Mugi's the only one that can go."

"The hell?" Ui and Ritsu said in an alarmed chorus.

In the end, Tsumugi was the only one to come on board. "See you guys later," she said.

"We'll see you in a bit," Ui said as the van took off. "Cheers, ay."

"Ugh, it's so friggin hot," Ritsu said, slumping over. "Curses! I wish we could all go to the staff room to crash for the night."

"They won't let us, though."

"Bullshit! That place has air conditioning! My libido is going to be in danger here if I'm not able to cool off!"

"No one cares about your libido, Ritsu," Mio deadpanned.

"Shut up, Mio!" They all walked back to the music room to suffer in the heat once more. Poor girls.

As for Tsumugi, she got to see sights that she never got to see when she was on the train. This was a whole new experience. "So, how are you doing in your classes?" Sawako asked her.

"Oh, Miss Sawako, I'm doing just fine. I really liked learning about the history of this country and others, as well as Finland."

"You're part-Finnish?"

"My mother was born in Finland, and my dad was born here, but he is part Finnish as well. 70 to 30 percent. I was studying some important events in the history of my other homeland."

"You were, huh? Tell me about it."

"Well, Finland's role in Second World War was in many ways strange. Firstly the Soviet Union tried to invade Finland 1939–40. Even with massive superiority in army strength, the Soviet Union was unable to conquer Finland. In late 1940, German-Finnish co-operation had begun, and was unique when compared to relations with The Axis. Finland signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, which made Finland an ally with Germany in the war against the Soviet Union. But, unlike all other Axis states, Finland never signed the Tripartite Pact and so Finland never was de jure an Axis nation. In the Tehran Conference of 1942, the leaders of the Allies agreed Finland was fighting a separate war against the Soviet Union, and that in no way was it hostile to the Western allies. The Soviet Union was the only Allied country which Finland had conducted military operations against. Unlike any the Axis nations, Finland was a parliamentary democracy through the 1939–1945 period. The commander of Finnish armed forces during the Winter War and the Continuation War, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, became the president of Finland after the war. Finland made a separate peace contract with the Soviet Union on 19 September 1944, and was the only bordering country of USSR in Europe that kept its independence after the war."

"Ooooh, interesting. Didn't know that. You really like that World War II stuff, don't you?"

"I do. It's fascinating."

"The fact that I am with somebody very cultured as you, Mugi, is an honor. I don't want you to forget that."

"I won't, Miss Sawako!" Mugi continued to soak in all the new sights as they made their way to her house. She couldn't believe that she was riding in Miss Sawako's car. It was a dream come true, a moment of bliss that only she could understand.

Sawako looked at her with a smile. The fact that the members of Mugi's club decided to convince her to come to Mihoko's wedding and rock the house down means that she had to repay them for their efforts. This was her payment. She could have easily rejected the offer, but Sawako knew that she could do that because it was her who approved bringing Ton-chan in as their pet inside the music room. Sawako Yamanaka, in spite of her well-publicized dual persona, was a teacher with a bright future and a certain savvy about her. Not very often did the staff get to see a former student have a two-sided personality. Having the elegant side made her popular, but the dark, badass side put her over the top.

"Do you like AC/DC?" she asked Tsumugi.

"Oh, I like any type of music."

"All right, let's show you a little bit of the band. You'll love this number. One of my favorites." Sawako tuned the player in to the third track of the Back in Black Album as they passed by duplexes and apartments.

* * *

_You're working in bars_

_Riding in cars_

_Never gonna give it for free_

_Your apartment with a view_

_On the finest avenue_

_Looking at your beat on the street_

_You're always pushing, shoving_

_Satisfied with nothing_

_You bitch, you must be getting old_

_So stop your love on the road_

_All your digging for gold_

_You make me wonder_

_Yes I wonder, I wonder_

_Honey, whaddya do for money?_

_Honey, whaddya do for money?_

_Where you get your kicks?_

_You're loving on the take_

_And you're always on the make_

_Squeezing all the blood out of men_

_They're all standing in a queue_

_Just to spend the night with you_

_It's business as usual again_

_You're always grabbin', stabbin'_

_Trying to get it back in_

_But girl you must be getting slow_

_So stop your love on the road_

_All your digging for gold_

_You make me wonder_

_Yes I wonder, yes I wonder_

_Honey, whaddya do for money?_

_Honey, whaddya do for money?_

_Yeah, whaddya do for money honey, how you get your kicks?_

_Whaddya do for money honey, how you get your licks?_

_Go! Yeow!_

_Honey, whaddya do for money?_

_I said, Honey, whaddya do for money?_

_oh ho honey_

_Oh honey_

_Whaddya do for money?_

_What you gonna do_

_Honey_

_Oh yeah honey_

_Whaddya do for money?_

_What you gonna do?_

_Awww, what you gonna do?_

* * *

Mugi was singing the chorus, even after the song ended. "Honey, whaddya do for money...Honey, whaddya do for money..."

"Catchy, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is. I love this song." She noticed a charm dangling from the rear-view mirror. Enmusubi. "What's this?"

"A charm," she replied flatly. She was still holding out hope to find the love of her life.

The sight of it all fascinated Mugi. "Interesting. And I can see so well from the front seat!" She tried out the sliding-seat feature. "Whoa, it moves!"

"Love that, huh?"

"Yep!"

Mugi slid it a bit too forward. "Don't overdo it," Sawako said with a chuckle. "Hang on tight." She put the pedal to the medal. "So what's this I hear about a promise?" she asked Mugi.

"Well, this is how it all boils down to, Miss Sawako..." They continued chatting for the longest time in her car.

* * *

"Ahhh, there you are, Milady," the house butler said as they made their way to the combine, replete with a fountain at the entrance, and numerous sculptures and paintings inside the main hall.

"Whoa. This is a pretty huge house you got here," Sawako said to Tsumugi. "Beautiful stuff."

"Spacious, isn't it?"

"Forget spacious; it's heavenly. If Paradise ever existed on earth, this is it. You are quite spoiled, too, Mugi."

"Awwww, don't say that. It's just that...I was brought up that way."

She smiled and turned to the gentleman awaiting them. "Are you the butler of the house, sir?"

"The head butler, yes I am. My name is Saitou. A pleasure to meet you. Did Milady need something?"

"Yes, we wanted to obtain one of the turtle tanks that we used three months ago," Mugi replied. "Do you have it?"

"We do. I will fetch my assistants." Mr. Saitou snapped his fingers. A couple of young runners came over instantly. "Both of you go fetch Milady the best spare turtle tank you can find next to the aquarium. Make sure it is clean, too, and make it quick."

"Yes, sir," they both said.

"Don't worry, you don't have to overdo it," Tsumugi said.

"Milady, we always want to make sure that you are satisfied," Mr. Saitou said, "and that it will fit in your...instructor's?"

"Yes," Sawako said, "I am her teacher."

"Your instructor's car. Wait a minute." He used his monocle for a closer look. "Are you Miss Sawako Yamanaka, the same Sawako Yamanaka who played for Death Devil?"

She was startled. "How did you know?"

"Milady has been telling me about you. I hear you are a very good guitarist. Also, I heard from one of the peers as well as the staff about the wedding reception you had over the week. Interesting stuff and interesting music. Miss Yamanaka," he whispered, producing a shikishi board, "can I get your autograph?"

Her eyes slanted as she made a sign of the devil. "No problem," she said in her Catherine-esque tone, giving the butler her autograph.

"What a joy," Mr. Saitou said. "Your music is all the breakfast I need. I could use some Maddy Candy right now, or Love!"

The runners came back, carrying a tank that could fit inside the back. As expected, it was in clean condition, with a just-purchased. "Sir, here is the tank!" one of them said.

"Well done, well done. Put in the car, gentlemen."

"Yes, sir!" they both said.

"Is there anything else you need, Milady?" he asked Tsumugi.

"Nope, that's it."

"Very well. If you need anything else, do return. We'll be expecting you."

"Thank you."

"Thank you, sir," Sawako said.

"Miss Yamanaka, Milady, have a good day." Mr. Saitou and his runners watched the magenta minivan ride back to Sakuragaoka under a cruel, cruel sun.

* * *

"We're back, you guys," Tsumugi said, carrying the tank with Miss Sawako to the desk.

"Hello Mugi...you lucky, rich bastard," Ritsu said with a sheepish tone about her. "Hey, that is a big-ass tank! Awesome!"

Ui was impressed. "That is big.'

"Amazing, huh?" Mio said.

"It was definitely amazing," Sawako said.

"What was amazing?" Ui asked. Mio and Ritsu wanted to know.

"It was just amazing!"

"What was?" Ui, Mio and Ritsu asked.

She adjusted her frames. "Mugi, I'll be visiting for another teacher's visit later on, all right? Is that fine with you?"

"No problem, Miss Sawako, you can visit any time," Tsumugi said with a bow. "I look forward to you stopping by."

Ui figured it out. "Ohhhh. I see what they did there."

"You did?" Ritsu asked.

"Yes. Sawako was soaking in the sights of Mugi's mansion. This is why Miss Sawako may need to consider buying a bigger car in the future."

"Anyway, thank you very much, Miss Sawako!"

"You're welcome," she replied.

"Thank you very much!" said the others.

"My pleasure. Anytime."

* * *

Ui and Azusa brought out the bucket, filled it with water from the sink and carried it back to old tank, where they picked up Ton-chan, still molting, and placed him in the bucket of water. Then they emptied the old tank, washed and dried it, and installed the new tank, new rocks and new water to go with it. An installation of the temperature-regulating device, and all that was left was to put him in. This took about 20 minutes to complete.

"Thank you for waiting, Ton-chan," Ui said.

He swam around and looked at Ui as if to say, "No problem."

Azusa picked up Ton-chan from the bucket. "Here you go. This is a larger tank." She dropped him in, with a splash.

"Aren't you glad, Ton-chan?"

He looked at Ui as if to say, "Whoa, this feels amazing! Thanks, guys."

Ui noticed something unusual. "The sunlight is hitting the side of the tank, though."

Azusa noticed it as well. "Well-detected. It would be better to cover it, right?"

"Do we have any duct tape?" Ritsu asked her.

"I think we might have some in the storage room."

Taking a piece of black construction paper and the duct tape, Ui covered the bottom-right side of the window to cover the light. "I think this should work right, guys? What do you think?"

Ritsu's response was assertive. "Suppose so."

"All right," Miss Sawako said, "I'll go back to the staff room, okay guys?"

She was about to leave when Ritsu grabbed her arm. "Hold on a sec!"

"Is there something else you need?"

She was literally on her knees, begging like a lost puppy waiting to be put to sleep. "I have a special request, only because it's you!"

She sounded agitated, and suspicious of Ritsu intentions. "Ehhhh? I'll return after all."

"Sa-wa-chan!"

"I-don't-want-to!"

She knew what to do, motioning to Tsumugi. "Mugi, all you!"

Thankfully, the Co-Op decided to come upstairs and provide some extra refreshments. Now, they really were spoiling the members. It was bloody ridiculous. "How about a chocolate frappucino, Miss Sawako?"

Easy as pie. "I'll have some!"

Ritsu nodded. "Hmph. Got her." Ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom.

* * *

"So, you guys want an air conditioner installed?" Miss Sawako asked the five of them after she scarfed the whole thing down.

"Yeah," Ritsu said in her explanation, "it's because the school hasn't installed on here yet, and it gets really hot down here, even with the windows open."

Ui added to the arguments. "We were wondering if there was anything you can do about it."

"No idea," Sawako said sheepishly.

Mio was clearly disappointed. This would not only impact the light music club, but also any organizations and classes that need to use the room. "Is that so..."

"Okay then," Ritsu said, rising up to the challenge with two pumped fists and hell to pay, "we'll go buy an air conditioner ourselves!"

"Where are we gonna get that kind of money, though?"

"Well, we can do a part-time job again. Let's go ahead and find some work!"

"Yeah!" Ui and Mugi said, in solidarity with Ritsu.

However, Azusa knew that there was a bigger fish to fry besides purchasing an air conditioner for the room. "Hey guys, what about studying for your entrance exams? They're coming up, you know."

"She's got a point, Ricchan," Ui said, wagging her finger at Ritsu.

"Then why the heck did you side with me just now?" she shot back, visibly annoyed by her friend's traitorous tendencies.

"She moves in mysterious ways," Mugi answered in a singsong manner.

"Cut it out with the U2, you!"

"Oh, that reminds me of something," Sawako said to the five of them. "You can try asking the student council to approve it."

"Bingo!" Ritsu said, pointing at her.

Mio pondered the choice. She was one to question every move because reasoning was her forte. Such was that of the club's vice president. "But I wonder if they will actually approve that request? I mean, this is an expensive item to install here! Money is money, you know."

"So then, dearest Mio," Ritsu said, "our only choice is to bribe?"

Something came up for Ui. "That reminds me; Jun-chan wanted a PC!"

Ritsu liked where this was going. "Okay Mugi, could you go ahead and provide a computer for us?"

She was all-in on the plan. "You got it!"

Mio didn't understand the logic. Again, reasoning, reasoning, reasoning. "You can get an air conditioner at the shopping district that will cover this room for the price as that PC...so I don't know why you numbskulls have to oversimplify the matter here."

Nonetheless, that was the plan. Outside the building, the track team was running laps and the baseball team from the boys' campus was gearing up for another prefectural tournament run. They were the favorites to win that tournament en route to Koshien.

Operation "Air Conditioner GET!" was in motion. Ritsu opened the door, alarmed as ever as she entered the student council room. "We have an emergency, Jun!"

Jun Suzuki was stunned. "Hm? Is something the matter?"

"Ui collapsed from the heat!"

"What?" She placed a hand on her forehead. "She did? Oh dear. What happened?"

"Ricchan..." Ui said to her. "If I could, just once before I go and meet my creator, in the skies above this school...snap my fingers...goodbye." With a sigh, she collapsed, and said no more.

"Ui? Ui?" Ritsu was in total distress. "No! Ui!" Jun blinked.

Part 2 of the skit began. "Dost thou want a golden air conditioner, Ui Hirasawa, or a silver air conditioner?" asked Ritsu, playing God as Ui prayed.

"My Lord and my God, deliverer of all things righteous, all I ask for is a regular air conditioner without anything worldly, and nothing else," Ui said.

"You are very honest, my daughter, with a wise decision. And so, I will bless you and bestow upon thee a brand-new air conditioner!"

"Thank you, my Lord, my God, and my Savior. Praise be to thee! Hallelujah!"

They looked at Jun again, who simply blinked. "Uh, guys?" she asked. "What is with the Abbott & Costello routine?" Operation FAIL.

* * *

It was time for Plan B. Mio walked in unannounced. "Sorry for the trouble, Jun," she said, yanking Ui and Ritsu by the collar.

"No worries," she replied, chuckling. "I know Ui. She sometimes likes to do this, but in the diminutive. Now as for your friend, well, now that's a different story..."

"I think we gave it our best shot," Ui said. "What do you think, Ricchan?"

"Ohhhh, Mother...Mamma Mio, Mamma Mio, Mamma Mio, let me go!"

"Anyway," Jun said, grabbing a donut from a box she brought in, "did you guys need something?"

"Well, we had a little favor to ask you," Ui replied.

"Wait, Ui!" Ritsu interjected. "This room...it's cool."

"Hey, you're right." They noticed that this was one of the rooms that had air conditioning installed.

Ritsu looked around, and sure enough, there it was. "This room does have an air conditioner!"

"Yep, it does."

She was screaming bloody murder. "An abuse of power!"

"So, anyway, like we were saying, Jun-chan..."

She had to know. "What were you, Ui? We did agree by consensus at the council meeting last week that the school will be installing air conditioners in the classrooms, and that any clubs who want one should submit a request."

Mio looked at a guilty Ritsu, pouting. "Ricchan, ¿que pasa?" Ui asked. Mio could not believe that she forgot to send a request again. "Maybe I should have written a request ahead of schedule. My bad."

"Preeeeeeez?" Mio asked, clearly annoyed by the situation.

Ui knew what was coming. "Oooh, she's gonna get it!"

Ritsu admitted as much. "Mamma Mio! Oh, crap, I forgot to go-OW!" Up came the headbump. Those blue skies just couldn't stop flying in and out and all about. Such was the mystique of nature. "Sorry, Mio..."

"You had it coming, Ricchan," Ui said.

"Oh, shut the fuck up!"

"Anyway," Mio asked Jun, "is it too late?"

"Well, let's see here." Jun took out her pocket calendar, checking some dates. "The deadline passes last week, However, there is a meeting tomorrow, and I will go ahead and bring this up to the council for you guys."

"Awwww, thank you Jun!" a crying Ritsu said, hugging her.

"We knew you'd pull through, Jun-chan!" Ui said, glomping her.

Jun was obviously feeling uncomfortable. "Uh, your sweat is sticking to my clothes..." Mio just had to put a hand to her shaking forehead. It was as if it was all taken care of. It was a process.

"Hey guys, we're back," Ritsu said to the others as Mio and Ui fell in back at the music room.

"So how did it go?" Azusa asked.

Her tone was one of disappointment. "Well, for now, she's gonna go ahead and bring it up during the meeting tomorrow."

She was not understanding the situation quite clearly. "The meeting? What do you talk about in meetings?"

"Well, you know I've never been to one, so I don't know!"

"Don't brag about that!" Mio shot back.

"Actually," Ui said, "you know how we've been talking about things over tea and cake and practicing?"

"Yeah?" Ritsu replied.

"That essentially is one type of a meeting. A casual one, but a meeting nonetheless."

"Ohhhh."

"Now, as for student council meetings, Azunyan," she said, turning to Azusa, "they talk about different items of business, like what events or purchases to approve, what events or purchases not to approve...that sort of stuff. See, the student council is the brains of the student body. They make all of the decisions for the entire campus."

"And how the hell do you know all this stuff?"

"Jun-chan, of course."

"Figures."

Tsumugi was worried. "Is there a chance that the proposal will be denied?"

"Probably," Mio said, also worried. Clearly, their timing was off, and the deadline did pass for club equipment requests.

"I hope not," Ui said. "We need an air conditioner here, by all means necessary!"

She put a finger to her chin in thought. "So I guess our only choice is to convince them."

Now they were all in thought. "This is what we'll do. Let's try a rehearsal of the meeting."

"Why are we gonna do that?" Ritsu wondered.

"As Ui was hinting at, we predict counter-arguments and prepare answers for them."

"Aha, I see. Well that sounds like a good idea." Mugi, Azusa and Ui were all in on the item of business brought up at the light music club and approved it unanimously.

A Pocky box was used as a marker to indicate who the president was. In this case, it was Mio. "Okay," Mio said, "anyone who has a topic to discuss, please raise your hand."

Naturally, Ritsu did. "Yes I do, Madame President, the Light Music Club would like to request an air conditioner."

She nodded. "Those in favor of Ms. Tainaka's proposal, say aye."

And naturally, Ui, Azusa, and Tsumugi were in solidarity, raising their hands. "Aye!"

Mio was wondering why no one disagreed. She knew that there was going to be at least one person that would object to the motion on the table. "That's not how it works, you know. There is no point going through this if everyone agrees!" She cleared her throat before going on. "Moving right along, are there any objections?"

Dead silence rang clear, along with deep thought, from the four of them. Mugi broke the silence, piercing the air with her right hand. "Yes I do. Since we already granted requests for air conditioners at the previous meeting, I think it's too late to ask for one now!"

Ritsu was startled, knowing that her plan was starting to fall by the wayside. "That's because..."

"Yes I do!" Azusa said. "It doesn't seem like the Light Music Club does much rehearsal, so do they really even need an air conditioner?"

"Huh?" This was starting to get out of hand. Frowning, poor Ritsu was running out of ideas to counter-argue the arguments laid by Mugi and Azusa. They were laying the hammer down. She was on the verge of tears and as she trembled, Ritsu had to take a bow. "I'm sorry, we withdraw our request for an air conditioner!"

Mio was irked. "What is giving up going to accomplish?"

"That's because this is so friggin' difficult."

"But that's the nature of the beast."

"Anyway," Tsumugi said to Ritsu, "this is the point where you have to make a rebuttal."

"What's that?"

"A counter-argument."

"You can do it, Ricchan," Ui said. "I know you can."

"Easy for you to say; you can do this in your sleep!" Truth was, she could. She just didn't want to today.

"You're the boss, the oldest, and the drummer!"

"Oldest, huh?" She had to show some guts. "But I suppose you're right. All right Azusa, bring it on!"

"All right, from the top," she replied. "It doesn't seem like the Light Music Club does much rehearsal, so do they really even need an air conditioner?"

"But we do practice. It's just...secret special training," Ritsu replied with blush. Some rebuttal that was.

Mio was confused. "And why the heck does it have to be a secret?"

"Yes, I have something to say," Ui said, raising her hand. "I don't think practice constitutes the entirety of a club."

Ritsu found a lead. "It looks like Ui said something constructive for once!"

"There's also things like deepening our friendships, meeting with students from other grades..."

"Exactly, exactly."

"And on top of that, the other clubs and classes who use the room will also be impacted by the installation of this air conditioner. If we suffer, they will too-"

"I think you can stop there," Mio said. "This is just a simulated meeting, not forensics."

Azusa went on, smiling. She did appreciate Ui's effort and didn't know that she was that good at debating. She wondered why Ui didn't try her luck at joining the forensics team. "Do you see? The Light Music Club doesn't need an air conditioner after all!"

Ritsu took umbrage to the arguments. "If we get an air conditioner, we will practice," Ui said.

"Really?" She was impressed by Ui's honesty, Azusa was.

"We practice two hours a day after class in the music room and on hot days it gets real stuffy and uncomfortable. We can't be the productive club we are if we don't have this installed! So our guarantee to you, members of the student council, is that we will intensify our practices and build on the success we have had here at this school if we have the air conditioner installed."

"You're a fighter, Ui," Ritsu said.

She brought out a set of Groucho Marx frames and donned them. "I know."

Ritsu turned to Azusa. "And being a drummer requires a lot of stamina, so the summer heat becomes a really big deal!"

The tables seem to be turning on Azusa. "T...That's..."

Ui upped the ante. "And on top of that, if we have an air conditioner, our performances will be 'cooler'! Not just in the literal sense, but in the figurative and slang sense as well!"

"You bet they will!" Ritsu added.

Azusa had to think of something. She had to bring out the white flag. "Fair enough," she said.

"Cool, now we're ready for the real thing," she said to the others, exuberant as ever.

"You get 'em, Ricchan!" Ui said.

"It's time for me to show everyone how serious your official club president is!" The others applauded. No bribes were needed.

* * *

The council meeting went on without any hitches. Ritsu went to the meeting herself inside the quarters. "As you can see," she explained, "this is going to impact several clubs and classes, and all will benefit. This is not just for us. This is for everybody."

"You have quite a case there," Jun said. "All right, is there any objections to the request?"

The council treasurer went over and showed her a book. "Madame President, the student council's budget for this year is already allocated."

"What?" Ritsu exclaimed.

Jun took a look. "Hmmm. It says in this line item to replace the copier. I think we can table that item to next year's budget."

"You're right, we can."

Ritsu was surprised. "Eh? Are you sure? For real?"

One of the 11 in the council saw enough of the argument. "I make a motion to suspend the rules."

"Is there a second?"

"I second the motion," another said.

"All those in favor?"

"Aye!" said the entire council.

"All oppose?" A pause. No one. "The motion is carried. Is there a motion to approve the installation of an air conditioner to the music preparation room on the third floor of the main building?"

"Madame President, I make a motion to approve the installation of an air conditioner to the music preparation room on the third floor of the main building."

"Good. Is there a second?"

"I second the motion," said two others in the council, to the collective amusement of those at the meeting.

"We seem to have a contest for whoever wants to second that motion." she pointed to a student on her left taking minutes. "Secretary, make sure to note that two members of the council seconded the motion. All those in favor, say aye."

"AYE!" the council said unanimously.

"All who oppose?" Another pause. Ritsu was smiling. "The motion is carried and the council will arrange the order at the conclusion of this meeting."

Ritsu fell to her knees in joy, clasping her hands in relief. "Thank you! Thank you, Jun!"

"All right, all right. Now moving on to the next item of business..."

Hours later, a local air conditioner dealer delivered a large AC that could circulate across the room without missing an area. It was state-of-the-art, and was priced to accommodate high school classrooms and meeting rooms. Essentially it was the same AC that was installed in the classrooms; the council arranged for an extra.

"Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth?, Ooh heaven is a place on earth," Tsumugi and Ui sang. "They say in heaven love comes first, we'll make heaven a place on earth!"

"Awesome," Azusa said.

Mio was impressed by the new feature in the room. "Ritsu, you beauty!"

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith," Ritsu said, arms crossed, "and we have won. Veni, Vidi, Victorious."

"All right then," Mio said to the others, "now we can get some practice done for once."

Somehow, at the back of her mind, she knew that Ui and Ritsu were going to just cool off just for the sake of cooling off. "Hey, what the hell are you guys doing?"

"Guys," Ritsu said, "I request that have the rest of the day off because this is made of win." She took her shirt off, revealing her sports bra and a body drenched in sweat. Mio fainted at the sight. Mugi's nose was about to bleed.

Azusa groaned. "Ritsu-sempai..."

Ui felt compelled to join her friend in casting off her clothes. "I wanna get cool in a hurry."

"Oh no, now Ui-sempai, too?" Ui was also sweating. "Those breasts...they're huge..."

Eventually, after five minutes of drying and a Ritsu-sized headbump, the two of them put their shirt back on and got back to their instruments.

"I was only kidding," Ritsu said.

"She was only kidding," Ui added. "Wait...the hell you were!"

"Oh geez," Mio said, annoyed by her headband-rocking friend's about-face mentality. "Anyway, everyone, Fuwa Fuwa Time from the top, how about it?"

"Bring it!"

"Here we go!" Ritsu said, counting off the beats with newfound intensity. "1, 2, 3, 4!"

The five of them jammed into the afternoon without any issues. The air conditioner was on after all. Ui and Ritsu—no, make that Hokago Tea Time—might as well be in Hokkaido at this point, because the music room was cool as cool could be.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 11**


	12. Rock And Roll Dream

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 12:**

**Rock And Roll Dream

* * *

**

Finally, the moment of truth arrived for the masses at Class 3-2 of the Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus. Outside the building, the track team continued final preparations for the prefectural meet. Summer break was now around the corner and the slate of school days before the break were counting down. It was time for more memories, more fun, and more chances to enjoy to youth of their lifetimes. Because that, in truth, was what summer break was all about. Well, that and getting a good tan.

"Ladies, ladies, ladies," Sawako Yamanaka with a smile as wide as the Nile, "Summer break is coming up tomorrow, and I want you all to make the most of your time off from your classes. However, I need to remind you all that as seniors, you will have summer classes, so use your time wisely."

The founder of the school was decked out with an aloha shirt, a sun hat and a lei. "Time for us to have a training camp again," Ui Hirasawa said to the others after class, "just like last time."

Tsumugi Kotobuki, Mio Akiyama and Ritsu Tainaka wondered what Ui was trying to get with that statement. "Huh?"

"Do you folks know what I'm talking about? Training camp! But this time, we do it at my house!"

"I would love to go," Mugi said.

Ritsu wanted in. "Definitely. One more time!"

Naturally, Mio wondered why they were quick to judge. And Azusa Nakano had yet to weigh in, because it was just the four of them. "Hold on a sec!" she interjected, pointing at Ui. "What about studying for-"

Ui called the question. "Who seconds the motion for having camp?"

"I second the motion!" Mugi and Ritsu said, raising their hands with Ui. It was three against one.

Mio had her reservations. They were so fast to get their summer break up and at 'em. "Hey! Did you notice? We have to ask Azusa about this, too..."

Sure enough, Azusa rejoined the rest via SMS and Ui's mobile. Nodoka Manabe gave a thumbs-up and a wink in the background. She anticipated the vote an hour ago via Ui's text message prior to the final period and signaled a yes vote by raising her hand. Even if she voted no, Azusa figured out that the majority was going to win anyway, so it was her duty to make it a formality. Nodoka wasn't scheduled to go to the event because she had to check in with Jun Suzuki about some other important business prior to the break. She wasn't available to vote on the subject of the air conditioner because she chose, by agreement, to do some research. However, that would be the only time that Nodoka ever missed a student council meeting she made it a promise to herself to never miss a meeting again until graduation.

"Four against one," Ritsu said with a smile. "Bing!"

"Arrrrgh!" Mio growled, throwing her hands in the air. "Damn you, Ui!"

"It was her right to know, you know," Ui reiterated.

Ritsu was fired up. "So it's settled! It's back to training camp again this year! Can I get a hell yeah?"

Mugi and Ui had their fists in the air. "HELL YEAH!"

Mio did as well. "H...Hell...Yeah..."

* * *

"Hey onee-chan, what are you doing?" Yui Hirasawa asked Ui, who was cleaning the cupboard.

"We have some visitors."

Her eyes perked. "Visitors?"

"Yep. Go get the door."

"Okay!" She opened the door.

"Hello!" It was Tsumugi, Mio, Ritsu and Azusa

"Azunyan, Mio-sempai, Mugi-sempai and Ricchan-sempai, hello!"

"Welcome back, you guys," Ui said, placing some slippers in. "Let's go upstairs. Come on!"

"Take the lead, Ui," Ritsu said, grinning. Yui stayed in the living room, fanning herself while on her back. "Damn, it's so friggin' hot..." She was going to be feeling the heat for the longest time.

* * *

"You're playing some 70's music?" Ritsu asked Ui, who was busy downloading some of the slutty stuff on her laptop.

"Ever heard of the Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose?"

"There's that one song that goes, 'It's too late to turn back now', I think," Mugi said, stroking her chin. "Is this the one?"

"Nicely identified. Do you want something a bit more upbeat?"

Ritsu had a compelling suggestion. "How about that song from U2's album, 'Boy' that goes, 'dadadadadadadada, duhduhduhduhduhduhduhduh', like that?"

"I got that on this bad boy. Hang on." Opening her iTunes, Ui selected the first track from the album.

"Hey, this is the one, this is the one!" I Will Follow. That was the name of the track. "If you walk away walk away, I'll walk away walk away, I will follow..."

"Anyway, ladies," Ui said, clearing her throat, "I know you guys love to get your game on, and I prepared accordingly. I've got a Wii, an XBox 360 and a PS3 ready to go, along with the freshest from Guitar Hero and Rock Band, so that we can hone our savvy while hanging loose. Your call, because I defer to the majority."

"How the hell were you able to get all this?" Mio said, stunned.

"Ah, I got connections through Granny. See, she got her friends and neighbors to make some purchases and they brought them all here yesterday because they knew you were coming."

"They did?"

"Mio, you should never, ever, underestimate the power of senior citizens who are five steps ahead of the game."

"Steps?" Ritsu had to ask. "Does this mean you also have a DDR pad too?"

"Yeah, we got that here as well."

She shook her head. "Mother fucker...well, I'm gonna go ahead and stick with the PS3. PS3, everybody?"

"I'll take that," Tsumugi said. "It's not very often I've played on a console."

"You'll love it," Ui said. "Yui and I tend to go at it on the PS3. Of course, I get the advantage."

"Hey, onee-chan, you're mean!" Yui said with a pout. "I'm gonna join in too! I'm gonna take you all on! Let's do this!"

"Um, Mio-sempai," Azusa asked, "just what exactly was our meeting supposed to be about?"

"Training camp, and I can't believe they decided to do this instead." Mio decided to set some order. "Guys, we can do the games later. We have some business to take care of."

"Knew this was coming," Ui said, putting the consoles away in due fashion.

"Awwww, that is a drag," Ritsu added. "Mio, I trusted you!"

"Ehhhh, I can't play my games?" Yui asked.

"Good things come to those who wait, Yui-chan," Mugi said. Such sage advice.

Ui poured some iced barley tea for the congregation. Outside, the birds were singing in the summer air. It was a wonderful day, not so hot, but still could desire much in terms of comfort. Yui was busy reading a random football magazine while tuning in to the conversation.

"So," Azusa asked Ui, "can you make training camp this year?"

"Why do you ask that? Of course we are," she replied with a nonchalant sip.

"I mean, you guys are all seniors, and you have classes to take care off..."

"Don't sweat it, Azusa; it's only a short break," Ritsu said, waving the doubts off in typical fashion.

Ui agreed. "That really isn't anything we can't manage, Azunyan. We're seniors. we can take it. Am I right, Ricchan?"

"Yes, you are!" They both high-fived, and they laughed.

Azusa was still worried. "But still, I don't know if it's gonna be that short."

"Well," Ritsu recollected, "we went to Mugi's seaside villa by the beach last year, and the year before that, so maybe we can get us a change of scenery and go to the mountains this year."

"Oooh, an interesting possibility," Ui observed. "But I think we should stick to tradition and wrap it up at her place one final time. It's only proper."

"But if we go to the mountains, we can catch some fish from the streams and grill them on the spot! Wouldn't that be cool?"

"You brought up some very good points, Ricchan, I am impressed."

"So how about it?"

"First, we have to see what the others think."

"Awwwww."

"So you guys just want to play," Azusa said, wishing for a more dedicated work ethic from Ui and Ritsu. They worked hard; they played hard. It was something Azusa Nakano was used to seeing for the past year plus. Why would it be anything different?

"By the way," Mio asked, "where do you want to go, Azusa?"

"Me? Hmmm..." She had to give it some thought. "I want to go the mountains and see the Summer Fest there."

"Ahhhh."

"Summer Fest?" Ui asked.

Mugi's ears perked up. "Summer what?"

"Summer Festival, guys," Azusa said, correcting the two of them.

"Ohhhhh." They got the message loud and clear.

"Now I know what that is," Ritsu said. "There is, like, gonna be all these bands performing at these big-ass outdoor stages all over the area. It's the epitome of awesome. With a capital A. If there was ever such a thing as a Rock and Roll Heaven, THAT is the one. And there is gonna be thousands and thousands of people down there."

"Mosh pits included, right?" Ui asked.

"Mosh pits included."

"Ohhh man," said Mio, excited. "I've always wanted to rock on at a Summer Fest!"

"Me too!" Azusa exclaimed, her face bright with glee. "I think hearing professional musicians and seeing what they do on stage will be a good learning experience for us down there."

"Ladies, it is settled," Ritsu said. "We are officially gonna our rock on at the Summer Fest!"

"So this is held in the mountains, huh?" Ui asked Azusa.

"Yep. This one is held on a mountain."

"I can see why they hold it there. The people in the cities might get annoyed by all the noise, so they go rural and bring it to a rather quiet part of the country."

"Exactly."

'I know that there are some places around the world that are known for their rock festivals, like Coachella in America and the occasional concerts at Knebworth in England."

"How do you know all that?"

"I actually have DVDs of some of the shows there."

"No way! You know what, Ui-sempai? You should let me borrow some of them. It's good study material."

"Later on, I will."

"You got DVDs of those shows?" Mio asked Ui.

"Mm-hmmm. Every one of them."

"I gotta borrow some of those as well."

"Later on, later on." Ui flipped her laptop to search for the concert that Azusa was hinting at.

"But how are we gonna get tickets?" Ritsu asked Azusa. "Are any still available? It's probably a sellout by now."

Miss Sawako Yamanaka, who saw the door open as a result of Yui's negligence, walked in. "No worries, my darlings, I'll give you mine's just this once," she said, waiving them lazily.

"Hey, Miss Sawako," Ui said. She turned to her younger sister. "Yui...did you forget to lock the door?"

She blinked. "Eh...what?"

Ui took hers. "This one's mine."

Azusa was captive and grabbed her ticket. "Brilliant!"

"Excellent, Sawa-chan!" said Ritsu, taking her ticket.

"But of course," she said with a chuckle.

The others were taking their tickets when Ritsu realized something."Wait a minute. You little mouse for a teacher; you showed up out of nowhere!"

"Give me some barley tea, please?" Sawako asked Ui.

"No prob, Miss Sawako," Ui replied, pouring her a strong one.

"Mmmm. Now that hits the spot."

* * *

As the clouds rolled over the Tokyo skies, Ui flipped the iTunes to the Eagles and the song Hotel California. "I can't believe it," Mio said, hands on her cheeks in bliss. "My first-ever Summer Fest..."

"And it'll be my first outdoor concert, too," Azusa added.

"You bet, it's gonna be a blast."

"You will lose the game if you're too relaxed," Sawako warned.

She blinked. "Lose the game at what?"

"The game of summer! You see, ladies," she said, turning to the group and pointing to the skies, "there is the glaring sun, the festering heat, the summer bugs awaiting their prey and the masses and masses of humanity! Anyone going to Summer Fest will be battling all of those elements! You better be ready, children!"

Mio nodded. "Roger that!"

Ui also nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

The others turned to her with puzzled looks. "Come again?" Ritsu asked.

Azusa was stunned at the dedication of those two. "Oh my God, Mio-sempai and Ui-sempai fired up for this one! They're like two angels ready to go to war! Mercy!" For Mio Akiyama, this was an experience she dreamed of since she was a child. Now she was on the cusp of living it.

The following morning, as the traffic lights blinked and the sun had yet to rise over the Kanto plains, the girls of Hokago Tea Time would take a special bus leaving the city to the Natsu Rock Festival. The excitement was building, and there was magic in the air...and the bands had yet to do the business! But as the swaths of fans began to roll into town from every prefecture, city, town and village, the anticipation was building quietly.

"D-Day is upon us," Ui said, wearing a sun hat and a backpack full of supplies and snacks. "Rock away, you bands and chatter on, you groupies." She chose to wander about, savoring the anticipation from the other fans, deep in their discussions and debates as to which acts were better, which groups had more leverage, and which individuals had superior sex appeal.

Azusa was also among the very first at the shuttle stop, donning a bucket hat and a beige bag. She looked around for the others. "Nobody's here yet..."

Eventually, one of them arrived. "Azusa-chan!" It was Tsumugi, with her trademark sun hat and a bag full of concessions and other trinkets.

"Oh, Mugi-sempai!"

"Good morning." She took the very first morning train leaving the station nearest the combine. "How are you?"

"Fired up. Can hardly wait."

"So you're the first one here?"

"Yep!"

In came the others. "Morning!" Ritsu said gleefully, waving to them. "Hey, hey, hey!"

"I knew it," Mio said. "Only Mugi and Azusa are here on time."

"Ahem?" Out of nowhere popped Ui and her shades, who was walking in to join the party of five, donning her sun hat.

"Hey, there you are."

"I had to tell Yui that there is no ticket for her. Glad the shuttle didn't come here yet, so I decided to mill around for a while."

Azusa noticed something unusual with Mio. "You seem to be a bit bleary-eyed, Mio-sempai. Did you get some sleep?"

"Little Miss Mioblob here was so amped up for the big one that she didn't sleep a wink," Ritsu explained.

"Man, I knew she was ready for this, but not THIS ready!"

"She was thinking about which bands she wanted to see."

"You got that right," Mio replied. "So many bands, so little time!"

"And don't forget, there's a lot of stages to watch the fun," Azusa added.

A long coach with orange, purple and blue livery rolled into the stop. "Ladies," Ui said, "our one-way ticket to heaven awaits us. Let's Go!"

"You know," Ritsu said to the others, "I think Ui got the most sleep out of everyone here."

"Can't deny that," Mugi said. "I think Ui-chan visualizes the atmosphere and what she will be hearing, seeing, and doing before we even get there. She pictures it all in her sleep, and when the time comes, it doesn't surprise her one bit, the atmosphere and the festivities."

"How do you know all this?"

"Intuition." Ritsu raised her eyebrows, impressed.

"Hey guys, what are y'all waiting for? Let's go!" Ui said, calling her troops over to the bus.

"Are you sure Ui got the most sleep among all of us, Ritsu?" Mio asked.

"Maybe I was lying to myself." She reserved her right to doubt.

"Did you get here first?" Azusa asked Ui as they walked towards the coach.

"I was 15 minutes ahead of everyone else. The streets were empty when I made my presence. I did get to talk with some of the others fans. Some have been to this thing since it first began. Could you believe that?"

"I guess we're only missing one more, then," Mio said to Azusa.

Miss Sawako, in a red shirt and grey slacks with a green backpack, walked in. "Heeeey guuuuuys," she said in a deep voice that traumatized Mio and surprised Azusa.

Ui could see her coming several feet away. "Oh, there you are. Hi, Miss Sawako. You seem to be a bit exhausted."

"Shit, I sure am. Getting up this early in the morning is such a bitch, especially after you go to a fucking concert last night and then stay up all fucking night drinking without getting any fucking sleep. Dammit, ugh, this fucking sucks." She hit herself on the head. "Tee hee."

"Mugi, did you bring the Chaser pills?"

"I did," she replied, presenting a blister pack with a smile.

"Give her some."

"Yes ma'am!"

Ui took a closer look at Sawako as Mugi treated her hangover symptoms. "I'm just surprised that you are still able to stand, Miss Sawako."

"Don't be." She took a big gulp of the pills. "Thank you Mugi. That helps a lot."

"She went on a bender?" Ritsu exclaimed. "Are you serious?"

"Yep," Ui replied, "she's serious."

"Son of a bitch...why the hell did you do that if you knew we were leaving for the show today?"

Sawako's rebuttal was as empty as her inhibitions. "You were the one who told us to..."

Mio nodded, her aim true and her intentions clear. This was going to be a show none of the six among thousands would ever forget. And she knew it.

Ui tuned in to "Face Down" by the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus as the bus made its way to the venue. It was a two-hour journey to Yuzawa City in Niigata Prefecture up National Route 17. "You guys heard of the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus?"

"No, I haven't," Mio said to her.

"They're this band from Orlando. Have a listen."

She did. "Hey, not bad stuff."

Sawako had a hot towel over her eyes. "I feel like a sack of poo right now."

Ui nodded. "We know, we know. Hope those Chaser pills are working for you."

"They are, but...it's a process, you see."

"Got it."

Tsumugi and Azusa looked on in wonderment. "You all right, Miss Sawako?"

"She says it's a process. You know, Azunyan, Yui would not be able to stand this because she gets carsick easily."

"She does?" Azusa asked.

Ui smirked. "Yep."

"That's too bad."

Mio, meanwhile, continued to make out her plans. "I'm gonna see this, and this, and this!"

"Sheesh, Mio," Ritsu said with a bewildered look on her face, "you're gonna see all of them!"

"Precisely, Ritsu."

"But how the hell are you gonna do that? They play at the same time on different stages."

"I wanna split into two people!"

"The fuck?" Ritsu still didn't get it. "You know human cloning is for the well-to-do, right?"

"I can dream, can I?"

She rolled her eyes. "You sure can. With flying colors. Well pick one already, or else split the damn thing!"

Mio pressed the issue. "I want to teleport!"

A bead came down Ritsu's head. "That's not gonna happen, either, sweetheart."

"Mio-sempai is quite a dreamer, isn't she?" Azusa asked Ritsu.

"Dreamer, you know you are a dreamer," Ui sang. "Well can you put your hands in your head, oh no!"

"She's being a bit selfish."

Mugi flagged down one of the bus attendants selling refreshments in her imagination. "Gimme some yakisoba! Yakisoba, right here!"

"And Mugi-sempai's going off the deep end, too!"

"Talk about riding on the coattails of flash delirium," Ui said, flipping her iPod to MGMT. "Silly money, you're my honey!"

Ritsu was beside herself. "Have mercy, Miss Percy." Yes, this was gonna be one fun ride to rock and roll heaven.

As the day broke over the countryside, the coach stopped by a restaurant for breakfast. Miss Sawako stayed behind. "I can't...make it..." she groaned. That left the girls to soak up the venue and get their fill. At least they wouldn't have to deal with Miss Sawako puking all over the floor.

Mio took a look at the schedule of concerts with a deep blush and unwavering euphoria. "Concerts...from dawn to dusk...can it get any better that this?"

"Oh geez, Mio," Ritsu said with a wry look on her face, "you're gonna be on needles and pins, just waiting to explode, man! I know it!"

"Praaaaise the gods of rock and roll!" Ui said, stretching while snacking on some ice cream. "After we get back on the bus, destiny awaits the willing!"

"She's fired up for it too," Ritsu said to herself. "Where'd you get that cone?"

"The cafeteria here's got some awesome snacks and a souvenir shop. We so need to hit that place up, you guys! This service area's got the whole package!"

"The whole package, huh?" Azusa asked.

Ui offered her cone. "Try it."

"But...you touched it."

"Oh, come on. Soft-served ice cream with Highland milk? This is the real deal, Azunyan!"

"Fine, thanks." Azusa gave it a chomp. "Hey, this is good."

"Want me to buy you a cone, sweetheart?"

"Really? Thanks, Ui-sempai!"

"Only a few more minutes to go before we have to get back on the bus," Tsumugi said to the others.

"On second thought," Ui said, "here." She handed Azusa the cone. "All yours."

She was touched. "Ui-sempai..."

"Time waits for no one, so it seems."

"Exactly," Mugi added, pumping her fists with assertion. "We're not eating any yakisoba here."

"There you go again with the yakisoba," Ritsu said, shaking her head. "I think this is going to be on her mind for the rest of the day."

"I think there will be a stall down there that will sell it, Mugi," Ui assured.

"Really?"

"I would think so."

"Oh man! I do hope you're right."

Azusa nodded grimly. "Ritsu-sempai, it is gonna be on her head for the rest of the day, the afternoon, the evening and the morning after. Brace yourselves, everyone." Ritsu responded with a smirk.

The coach continued towards the venue in the mountains, passing by trees, sunshine, more trees, a few clouds, waves of birds greeting, and even more trees. Already there were some coaches and fans on the premises, and so this bus would be rolling in within the hour.

Ui flipped the iPod to a song from an indie band called The Briggs. "This is L.A., our city, our home...hey Mugi, have you ever been to Los Angeles?"

"Once, I think," she said. "It's pretty hot down there, but there are some good beaches, the people are relaxed, and Hollywood is Hollywood. You get to see how movies are made."

"I feel like we are living through a movie right now. It's a movie about us going through our first concert."

"You think so, Ui-chan?"

"I know so." She leaned on the window. "Isn't it surreal? It's as if we're all living through a dream and we still haven't woken up from it yet."

"Ui-chan...please don't lean on the window," Sawako moaned, still sobering up.

"Sorry, sorry." She got back to her seat, tuning in to a downloaded podcast.

Mio's state of mind was beginning to unravel as she shook Ritsu from side to side. "Ritsu, please tell me we will be there for the opening concert! We'll be there, right? Swear on your hands and knees that we will be there!"

"We will, but you don't have to shake me from side to side, Mio," she said. This was one of the few time where, aside from Ui and Azusa, Ritsu was among the even-keeled of the girls coming down to the concerts. Actually, she was the most even-keeled of them all because Ui was a bit out there, rocking on her iPod.

"Hey Azunyan," Ui asked, startling Azusa, "have you ever been to Los Angeles?"

"No, but I know somebody who has."

"You do?"

"Mugi-sempai."

"That's because I told Ui-chan, right Azusa-chan?" Tsumugi asked.

Ui nodded. "That's what she said." Azusa put a palm to her forehead.

Mio clasped her hands, eyes sparking, her face blushing and her mouth wide open. "Two days of sweet music! Oh Lord Jesus, thank you for letting me enter the pearly gates of rock and roll heaven! Let me rock and roll all night and party every day!"

"Kiss reference," Ui said to Ritsu, who shook her head.

"Urrggh, I hate Gene Simmons," Sawako groaned. "The clown..."

"Hey Ui-chan, don't forget the yakisoba," Tsumugi said to her. "Let's eat some yakisoba!"

"We know, we know."

Sawako was still grumbling. "Agggh, Gene Simmons, I hate you..."

"Man, let's just hang loose for crying out loud and let the chips were they may," Ritsu said, cool as a cucumber.

"All or nothing, all or nothing!" Mio said, her fists pumped.

"We're a mixed bag this morning," Azusa noticed as Tsumugi took a closer look at Ui's face. "Wonder why?" That's just the way it was.

"Keep your voices down, ladies," Sawako said. The sobering process was starting to accelerate.

The venue was on a hillside northwest of Tokyo in the mountains, in a quaint village where, for two days, it would be home to one of the country's premier music festivals. At last, the coach made it to the venue, and the band got off. Miss Sawako was still feeling woozy, but would get better as the day progressed. She had to stay on the bus for a little bit longer.

Thousands and thousands of concertgoers from Japan and around the world were conversing and descending, anticipating one heck of a show. The press was out in full force, and many had their laptops to do live blogging. The Natsu Rock Festival was scheduled to be broadcast on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, and many other social networking outlets and sites. Even MTV Asia was on the scene.

"Well here we are," Ui shouted out loud, donning her flower power shades and sun hat. "Ladies and gentlemen, Hokago Tea Time is here! Who loves ya, baby!"

"That's the spirit," Ritsu said. "Man, this is great."

"I have died and gone to heaven!" Mio cried, still in her self-imposed euphoria. "Take me now, Lord, take me now!"

She scowled at her preaching. "Spare us the Sermon on the Mount, Sister Mio."

"Do you believe? I do!"

"Wow, awesome turnout," Azusa said. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Me neither," Tsumugi said, a hand to her cheek. "So many people."

"You all right, Mio?" Ritsu asked. "They haven't started the show yet."

"This is gonna be fun," Azusa admitted.

"You know," Ui said to the others as she placed her iPod away and broke her camera out to take some random shots, "Yui would think that there are more than 300,000,000 people down here. She would be overwhelmed by all of this."

"That's more than the whole of Japan, you know." More than twice, to be exact. Population of Japan: 127,360,000. It would be refreshing to know that Yui would be surprised at how a small fraction of humanity could fill up a outdoor venue as humble as this.

Eventually, Sawako was sober enough to get off. "All right, everyone!" They all turned to their right and saw her, fresh and ready for action. "It's time to crank things up a notch from here on out!"

"Looks like Miss Sawako's ready to go," Ui said to the others.

"Man, you couldn't crank up anything with your eyes closed from the hangover you had, you wench," Ritsu said contemptuously.

Sawako looked on at the crowd with intentions as cruel as summer. "My old self from yesterday has been cast aside today." She pointed to the sky, and the gate. "There is the entrance! Ladies, beyond that spot is one of the biggest war zones you will ever face in your lives!"

"Has she been watching 'Apocalypse Now' or 'Patton' for days on end before all of this shit?" she asked Mio.

"Hooah, ma'am!" Mio said with a gulp.

Miss Sawako went on. "Ladies. The pink wristbands we exchanged the tickets for earlier when we got on the shuttle is the passport to this music festival. Wear it with pride, and never lose it, or else you cannot re-enter. Do I make myself clear?"

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Mio replied with a salute.

"Good." She picked up her bags. "Let's head over to the campground before we enter. We need to secure a sleeping spot for tonight."

The group headed over to the campground, and saw tents upon tents of fans that already came ahead of time. "Dammit, we were too late!" Sawako exclaimed. "The flat ground has been taken."

"General Yamanaka," Ui asked, "is there an alternate path for us to take?"

"It can't be helped. We're going to have to use the sloped ground for this one." Obviously, there were few spots taken.

"A change of scenery, that. I hope the blood doesn't rush to our head when we sleep."

"No worries," Ritsu said, nonplussed. "Sleep with your head uphill, and the problem will be solved."

"Well, that's what Yui would think." Mio laughed hesitantly.

* * *

The band immediately set up camp. Sawako savored the view. From here they could see the concerts and all of Mother Nature. The hills were green, the skies were blue and the clouds were white as the wings of angels. A flock of birds flew by to greet the fans as they migrated northward to nowhere in particular.

"Hmmm, now this has possibilities," she said as she finished setting up here green and gold tent.

"This seems to be old hat for you, right, Miss Sawako?" Ui asked.

"I've used this tent for about a few years, and it works like a charm. I know how to set it up, how to fold it down, and how to pack it when the concerts are over. Never misses a beat, and never will."

"Fabulous."

"All right, go ahead and put your bags inside." Ui grabbed hers and noticed Mugi crawling in. "I wonder what she's doing?" she asked to herself. "Oh well." She then went over and placed her bag inside.

"Yahoo!" Tsumugi said, savoring the interior. "It's a bit stuffy, but it's awesome! It hurts my back, though." Obviously, Mugi had never been inside a tent before.

"Man, come out of that already," Ritsu said with a snarl.

"What is she doing in there?" Mio asked.

"Who knows," Ui said, coming out.

* * *

After the band placed their belongings in, Miss Sawako continued the debriefing. Such was the field general that she was. "All right, everyone got what they need?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Mio replied.

"Did you apply your sunscreen?"

"Y...Yes, ma'am!" Azusa said. The band had it on as they were on the bus from the rest stop.

"Do we have things to drink?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Ui, holding a bottle of water from the case brought in to the tent. "No heatstroke on our watch."

"That will not be enough!" she exclaimed, pointing to the bottle. "You need sports drinks like Gatorade to combat the heat!"

"Then, General Yamanaka, should we leave these here?"

"Take it with you. You can wash your hands with it or sprinkle it on yourself when you get hot. Water is useful. We're going to need to pilfer the Gatorade from another place."

"There's always someone who wants to be the leader," Ritsu said to herself. She did admire Miss Sawako's savvy.

Suddenly, Sawako was in shock at Tsumugi's appearance. "Gyaaaaaaah! Why aren't you wearing sneakers, Kotobuki?"

"Is there a problem, Miss Sawako?" she asked. "I didn't bring any other shoes."

"Your feet are going to hurt like hell after this is over. That is the kiss of death right there!"

"General," Ui said, "do you have a spare pair for Mugi?"

"Unfortunately, no! God dammit, I did not expect someone so refined to be so underprepared."

"Then in that case, I did bring a spare pair of beach sandals for you. I brought them so I can play in the streams."

"What exactly did you come here for?" asked Ritsu, who shared Azusa's and Mio's look of contempt.

"Actually, I was only kidding," Ui said, "because Yui wanted me to bring this with me so that we all could think of her."

"For real, Ui? Are you serious?"

"I am." She was.

"Well done, Yui," Sawako said.

"No problem, Miss Sawako." She slipped the sandals on Mugi.

"One more thing, did you use the bug spray?"

They all turned at her. "Mugi, you got it?"

"Yes I do," she said with a salute. "Bug spray, 12 o'clock!" Mugi gave Ui some insect repellent. "Thanks, Mugi," she replied.

"Here, Mio-chan." Tsumugi gave Mio a spray.

"Excellent, thanks. This reminds me of our field trip I had with Ritsu back in grade school."

"Mugi, do you want me to spray some on you?" Ui asked.

"No, I can do it myself."

"Go ahead, señorita. Ricchan, Azunyan, want to get sprayed."

"Absolutely," Ritsu replied, leaning on Azusa's head..

"I think I can use some too," Azusa said as they both got the repellent applied to them.

"You know," Ui said, "Yui would love to spray all of you guys. She would be fascinated by all of this."

"Such a grade schooler your younger sister is," Mio said, a bead of sweat on her head.

"Hey, how long does it take for you guys to do all of that?" Sawako said to the band, jogging in place.

"Looks like she's ready to do some running," Ui said to Ritsu.

"How the heck did she get out there?"

"Let's go!" The others made the mad dash to the entrance, crossing a bridge over a stream. Ui checked her pink bag with the volunteer staff, decking in their orange shirts and IDs. Everyone in attendance was given lanyards to place their passes to the show, and their wristbands were scanned.

"Here you go," said one of the staff members to Azusa, handing her a trash bag.

"Thanks."

"We're handing our trash bags, so make sure to keep the area clean, everyone!" said another staff member over a megaphone as the masses of fans proceeded inside the venue. "Thanks for your help!" The anticipation was certainly building.

Mio was feeling the love in the air, and a look of enthusiasm crept across her face. This was what she lived for. This is what she died for. All those years of waiting, hoping, praying for the day to come was over. It was here, and it was now. "This is it," she said to herself, looking at the sky. "The Summer Fest is underway. This is going to be epic!"

* * *

So the Natsu Rock Festival began in earnest. "Here is a map of the action," Sawako said to the others, producing a guide to the concerts and the venue proper.

"Yes, ma'am," said the girls

Ui took a look at the layout, which looked like that out of a game board. Five stages, a gift shop, a concession area near the campground and a hotel for the traveling bands and press. This site had it all, and was well-prepared for what was to come. "Hmmm, this is some cool stuff."

"The Fire Stage is the main stage, ladies," Sawako said. "This is where many of the headlining acts will take place, with a capacity of 40,000. Since this is on a gradual slope, fans will be able to see the action all the way from the back." She continued on. "The Thunder Stage is the secondary stage. This is where emerging bands that have support from around the world as well as here will perform and debut. The Thunder Stage has a capacity of 10,000."

"So we will be traveling between these two areas for the most part, right?" Mio asked.

"Correct, and they are only 700 meters apart, so you don't have to do much walking."

But for Mio, it was going to be a lot of walking—and running—as her face turned blue. "Shit, it takes 70 seconds between stages even if we run 100 meters in 10 seconds!" She was shaking and sweating.

"Mio, chill out," Ritsu said, trying to keep her ladyfriend in check.

Sawako continued. "And there is an indoor stage for the young bands called the White Garden; the Blue Court, which houses jazz bands and other indie acts; and The Place of Dreaming, a small area where many acoustic bands gather."

Mio pumped her left fist, confirming her suspicions. "Son of a bitch, this truly IS a music festival! The sounds of heaven couldn't get any friggin' sweater, man!"

"And there is food here," Ui said, "and your favorite, Mugi, the yakisoba!"

"Really?" Tsumugi asked. "I want the yakisoba, Ui-chan!" The concession stand, Tororo Heaven, was located not too far from the campsite. And yes, besides pizza, burgers, hot dogs and soft drinks, the usual fare was there...and the yakisoba.

"Sweet heavens, these two are on a different wavelength, you guys," Ritsu said to the others.

"Definitely," Mio replied. "Definitely."

"Anyway, Sawa-chan, I was surprised that you had tickets."

"I get connections from my peeps and Death devil and others," Sawako replied with a smile, "so I'm able come to this festival every year. I used to be able to head to the flat area to pitch my tent, but the bus arrived a bit late, so this is the first time we have to camp out on the slope."

"But why did you have six tickets though?'

"The folks who were supposed to come with me from my band canceled at the last minute. So I thought, hey, maybe I can stop by Ui-chan's house and see if I could hand it to her to have her hand it to you guys. As luck would have it, all you guys were in her bedroom, and in I came, and here we are."

Ritsu tried to be clever. "Hey, are they avoiding you?" she asked with sly eyes and even slyer intentions. The others turned at her in shock.

"Here it comes," Ui said to Azusa.

"No they're not!" Sawako exclaimed.

"That's it? Awwww. I thought she was going to choke Ricchan for that."

Eventually, Sawako confessed. "...I think."

"It was going to be bad luck for them, so it seems," Ritsu said to Azusa.

"Huh..." They all sighed.

"Well, we're the next best thing, Miss Sawako," Ui said, "and we're here, so let's just soak this up!"

The sun was shining down over a clear blue sky. A full house was on hand. at the Fire Stage. Sawako and the girls were at the back. Ui took her binoculars to get a better look before taking some more photos. "This is what it's all about," she said. "This is heaven. Hey Mio," she asked, "you all right?"

Mio had a look of pain on her face. She could not believe she was that far away from the stage. "The real thing is really hot, and there are a lot of people..." A roar of the crowd startled both of them, more so for Mio.

"Here we go!"

"All right! Hello everyone, welcome to the Natsu Rock Festival!" said the local emcee. "Let's get this party started!" The crowd roared in approval, and the first band took the stage. "Are you guys ready?"

"YEAH!" roared the crowd, Miss Sawako and the girls, captive as ever. Mio was still trembling, her eyes mesmerized.

"All right, let's rock this place!" the emcee said. "First up, from Orlando, Florida, USA...The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus! Take it away, guys!"

The place was shaking as the band performed their number.

"Awesome!" Ui said. "This is what it's all about!"

"This is loud as fuck, man!" Azusa added. "Damn!"

Mio saw the fans jumping up and down, enjoying the moment, the music, the musicians, the melody and beat, everything. She just stood there, soaking it all up. Was this is a heaven? Or was this hell disguised as heaven? Or was she about to collapse, about to be overwhelmed by the epicness of it all? What was it going to be for her? The fans were pointing to the sky, their fists punching the air in an upward motion, their pink wristbands ever present.

Mio was on the verge of tears. "This is the Summer Fest..." she said to herself in a whisper. "This is...Summer Fest!"

Tsumugi and Ritsu were soaking it up. So were Sawako, and Ui, and Azusa. Everyone was enraptured by the spectacle of it all. They were in the arms of bliss, without a worry in the world, or a care to think about, and that was fine by them. Eventually, Mio joined in, her eyes opening to the land beyond the pearly gates, that place that those dreamed about, that Rock and Roll Dream.

"HELL FUCKING YEEAAAH!" Mio screamed, leaping high into the air.

"Whoa, she's broken through now!" Ui said. "She is in the moment!"

"You better believe it, yo!" Ritsu exclaimed.

"This band is great!" Mio said to Ritsu, bubbly. "All these bands are great! Take me with you, you stars!"

* * *

_Hey girl, you know you drive me crazy_

_One look puts the rhythm in my hand_

_Still I'll never understand why you hang around_

_I see what's going down_

_Cover up with make-up in the mirror_

_Tell yourself it's never gonna happen again_

_You cry alone and then he_

_Swears he loves you_

_Do you feel like a man_

_When you push her around?_

_Do you feel better now_

_As she falls to the ground?_

_Well I'll tell you, my friend_

_One day, this world's got to end_

_As your lies crumble down_

_A new life she has found_

_A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect_

_Every action in this world will bear a consequence_

_If you wade around forever you will surely drown_

_I see what's going down_

_I see the way you go and say you're right again_

_Say you're right again_

_Heed my lecture_

_Do you feel like a man_

_When you push her around?_

_Do you feel better now_

_As she falls to the ground?_

_Well I'll tell you, my friend_

_One day, this world's got to end_

_As your lies crumble down_

_A new life she has found-_

_Face down in the dirt_

_She said this doesn't hurt_

_She said I've finally had enough_

_Face down in the dirt_

_She said this doesn't hurt_

_She said I've finally had enough_

_One day she will tell you that she has had enough_

_It's coming round again_

_Do you feel like a man_

_when you push her around?_

_Do you feel better now_

_As she falls to the ground?_

_Well I'll tell you, my friend_

_One day, this world's got to end_

_As your lies crumble down_

_a new life she has found-_

_Do you feel like a man_

_when you push her around?_

_Do you feel better now_

_As she falls to the ground?_

_Well I'll tell you, my friend_

_One day, this world's got to end_

_As your lies crumble down_

_a new life she has found-_

_Face down in the dirt_

_She said this doesn't hurt_

_She said I've finally had enough!_

* * *

Ritsu liked seeing Mio like that. She never ever saw Mio this happy in her life. She was used to Mio treating her the wrong way. She was used to Mio giving her headbumps. She was used to initiating the triggers that caused her comeuppance. But she was not used to Mio enjoying her youth this spontaneously. It was a feeling that she hoped would linger on. This was a dimension of her best friend that made her more than just a best friend. Whenever Mio was happy, Ritsu was as well. "I like the singer's voice too," she said, celebrating the moment with her.

"All right guys, let's move on to the next one!" Sawako said to her troop.

Azusa was shocked. "Huh?"

"What, I wanna hear more of this band," Ui complained.

"If we're going to enjoy every part of this festival, we gotta do some touring. Besides, the band I recommend will be performing at the White Garden. It's gonna be far, so we're gonna have to do some running. Let's go!"

"You can go by yourself," Ritsu said, nonplussed by her enthusiasm.

"Really? Then I'll be on my way!" Sawako took off for her early afternoon run.

Mio was starting to complain a little bit. "Ritsu, Ritsu, come on! I'll also head over to the Thunder Stage too!"

"What?"

"Hurry, let's go before they start!"

"We'll be here throughout the day," Ui said to her.

"I'll stay here, too," Tsumugi said.

"All right, I'll be going!"

Ritsu decided to follow Mio to the Thunder Stage. "This is what we're gonna do," Ritsu said. "We'll call each other and rendezvous at some point later today to see how things are. If you got a camera, take plenty of photos."

"I got mine's ready," Ui said, "and there's plenty of film."

"Good."

"Hurry up already!" Mio said.

"All right, all right," Ritsu said. "Sheesh...later folks!"

"Godspeed, Ricchan," Ui said to her as her headband-rocking compatriot joined the bouncing bassist to the Thunder Stage.

"Are you all right with this?" Azusa asked Ui.

"They should give us a report on how things are down there, so, yeah. Besides, you want to hear more of this band too, right?"

"I guess so. Hey, Mugi-sempai," she asked Tsumugi, "what about you? Are you fine with this?"

"Well, I can't run in sandals, so I got no other choice."

"We are back here at the Thunder Stage," said another emcee keeping watch of the acts there, "and ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce to you...Kamakiri!"

Mio noticed something different. "Ritsu! Ritsu!"

"What is it?" she asked.

"This band's guitarist is a lefty!"

Ritsu took a closer look. "Oh yeah, he is. Well, isn't that a nice thing?"

"I hope he's still available. We can tour the world together..."

A blinking Ritsu wondered how Mio could have such a surprising, if crude, taste for men with bad haircuts and bad colored haircuts. Besides, she had her right. "I just hope your pants are not getting wet on my watch, Mio."

"Lefties sure look weird!" she replied, shaking Ritsu again. "I know it's weird coming from me, but I can't help it."

"Yes, in terms of going off the deep end, you do it better than he does. Now I know you're excited to see your kind on stage, but can you please quit shaking me? And relax."

"Awwww, just a little bit longer?"

"Jeez..."

Back at the Fire Stage, a new band was showing up. Azusa was soaking up the atmosphere, as always, and so were Ui and Tsumugi. The band was doing a cover of an Ataris classic.

* * *

_Last night I had a dream that we went to Disneyland,_

_Went on all the rides, didn't have to wait in line._

_I drove you to your house where we stared up at the stars_

_I listened to your heartbeat as I held you in my arms._

_We hung out at the rainbow where we drank til' half past two._

_Nothing could go wrong anytime that I'm with you._

_Like crashing a hotel room or leading up to that first kiss_

_Or searching for a high school that you know doesn't exist..._

_These are the things that make me free_

_I feel like I'm stuck in "stand by me"_

_This night was too good to be true._

_Today I woke up alone wishing you were here with me,_

_I wanted us to be something that we'd probably never be._

_Today you called me up and said you'd see me at our show,_

_But now I'm stuck debating if I even wanna go._

_Whitney, don't you understand that what I say is true?_

_I just want you to know I have a major crush on you._

_I'd drive you to Las Vegas and do the things you wanna do_

_I'd even have Wayne Newton dedicate a song to you._

_I only wish that this could be_

_Just dump your boyfriend and go out with me_

_I swear I'd treat you like a queen._

* * *

Azusa noticed that Ui was looking straight at the stage, as if she was entranced by the jumping masses of people, and the musician performing. What was she visualizing?, she wondered. Suddenly, it clicked. She was visualizing how this could apply to her and the band. This was a way for her to be inspired to up her skill level playing Gitah.

"Hey Azunyan, I got a question," she asked.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Do you think it could be us on this stage one of these days?"

"I don't see why not, but these are the best bands in the country. It's gonna take a lot of hard work for all of us to get there."

"Another question. How does bassist's hair stay up?" She was pointing to the musician decked out in dreadlocks and a raised ponytail.

She was in tears. "I think he uses rubber bands to hold it up. I don't know; why do you ask me?"

Tsumugi stroked her chin. "I think it's a natural perm, right?"

"Could be," Ui replied.

"Why the hell are you in Ui-sempai's camp in questioning the hairstyles of rockers, Mugi-sempai?" Azusa exclaimed. "Dammit!"

Lunchtime at Tororo Heaven was going to be a fun one...or so Azusa, Tsumugi and Ui thought. There were kebabs, curry at the Zousan stall, hamburgers, pizza, ramen, hot dogs, yakitori...all the fixings of the East meeting with the West. At Tororo Heaven, it is written that no fan of rock and roll will go hungry, so long as they have the cash.

But it was the yakisoba stall that drew the attention of the group and Tsumugi Kotobuki's fascination. And sure enough, they all went to it. A long queue of fans were there to get their fill.

"Wow, it's so popular," Mugi said.

Ui assured her socialite friend to her left. "Don't worry, we'll get in line with you. How's that?"

"Let's go," Azusa said, committed to helping Mugi out.

"Thanks, you guys," Tsumugi replied.

"Apologies, everyone, but we only have 10 servings left!" said a person overseeing the stall. He was met with boos from the queue.

"Damn you for being underprepared, you little punks!" exclaimed one of the disgruntled fans in line.

The news hit Mugi hard. "Oh God..."

Azusa tried to comfort her. "Mu...Mugi-sempai!"

"Don't lose focus, believe in yourself!" Ui said.

"How is that gonna help?" she shot back.

Mugi got back to her senses. "Right!" She knew it was a lost cause, so it was time for Plan B. "Ui, what do you want to eat? Down here?"

"Hmmm," she thought. "How about some pizza?" They checked the stall there. "Ugh. Son of a bitch, the old geezer in the yakisoba line wasn't crazy when he said these punks came in underprepared. Seriously, did they underestimate the numbers of people who would come down here that badly?"

Mugi was sympathetic. "Ui-chan..."

"At this rate, this is gonna be 1845 in Ireland all over again..."

"No it won't," Azusa said, unimpressed by the doom and gloom.

Ui's phone rang. "Some mail. Let's check this out."

"Talk about a change in mood!"

She opened the message. "It's from Ricchanski."

"Ricchanski?"

"Another nickname for Ricchan. Fire Stage at 2:00 p.m., then Thunder Stage at 3:00 p.m. Hmm. Sounds like a plan. And then it's back to the Fire Stage at 4:00 p.m."

"That's a packed schedule right there," Azusa said.

"I don't mind running," Tsumugi said, pumping her fists. She took off. "See you guys!"

"The fact that she's doing this in Yui sandals is pretty impressive," Ui said to Azusa.

"I think it's dangerous." However, she ended up sending one of her sandals skyward. "Mugi-sempai."

"Mugi, careful down there! Let's help her out!"

"Right!" They went over to help her out.

Tsumugi kept her balance and slowly turned to the others, helpless. "Ahhhhh!"

"Here," Ui said, putting her sandal back on. Soon after, she flagged down a dessert stand that had few people in line. Her eyes sparkled. "Ladies, I think our prayers are answered."

Sawako, meanwhile, was savoring the action at the White Garden. She was nodding her head to the heavy metal. "Awwww, hell yeah, this fucking rocks!" she screamed. "Ahahahahahahaaaah!"

Clouds were beginning to form over the concert venue, and soon after, the rain began to fall over the mountains. In came another typhoon. But the show went on, the fans dressed in their ponchos. The good thing for the girls at the Fire Stage was that they knew that the weather was calling for a 70% chance of showers over the afternoon, and they were all ready for this. They were able to get their ponchos out before the next act. It took some running, but they did what they had to do. Ritsu's was green, Mugi's pink, Ui's was red, Mio's was purple and Azusa's was yellow.

On the stage was Social Distortion, with their song "Reach for the Sky," played under heaven's sweet and salty tears of joy.

* * *

_When I was young I was invincible_

_I found myself not thinking twice_

_I never thought about no future_

_It's just a roll of the dice_

_But the day may come when you got something to lose_

_And just when you think you're done paying dues_

_You say to yourself "Dear, God What have I Done?"_

_And hope its not too late cause tomorrow may never come_

_Reach for the sky cause tomorrow may never come_

_Reach for the sky cause tomorrow may never come_

_Yesterday is history_

_And tomorrow is a mystery_

_But baby right now,_

_It's just about you and me_

_You can run you can hide_

_Just like Bonnie and Clyde_

_Reach for the sky_

_ain't never gonna die_

_And I thank the Lord for the love that I have found_

_And hold you tight cause tomorrow may never come_

_Reach for the sky cause tomorrow may never come_

_Reach for the sky cause tomorrow may never come_

_So if you please take this moment_

_Try if you can to make it last_

_Don't think about no future_

_And just forget about the past_

_And make it last_

_Reach for the sky cause tomorrow may never come_

_(reach for the sky I ain't never going down)_

_Reach for the sky cause tomorrow may never come_

_(reach for the sky I ain't never coming down)_

_Reach for the sky cause tomorrow may never come_

_(reach for the sky I ain't never going down)_

_Reach for the sky cause tomorrow may never come_

* * *

The show would proceed, come rain or come shine. Many successful concerts took place in the rain; some even took place in the snow. All Mother Nature wanted was a front row seat to the action, that's all.

"All right, everyone, thanks a lot for coming out today!" said lead singer Mike Ness. "We love you! Good night!" The crowd roared in approval as the Orange County, USA mainstay left the stage. For the girls, it was the culmination of three more hours of going between the Fire and Thunder stages to savor some of the finest music from Japan and the world. That's what it was all about.

* * *

The afternoon progressed, and the next act was setting up shop at the Fire Stage. Tents can become very useful, especially when it's raining during the PM hours. So it was not surprise that the Hokago Tea Time was going to be huddled up inside Miss Sawako's tent for the night, protected from the elements. The hope for the consensus of fans at the Natsu was that the rain would dissipate and it would not get so wet that it would be literally uncomfortable.

Their prayers were answered.

"Hey guys," Ui said to the crew, "The rain seems to be stopping for some reason."

Ritsu was busy e-mailing Miss Sawako some news. "Raining out here, but the joint is still jumping," she said. "All right, now it's stopped." She send the message. "We got about 10 minutes before the next band we want to see."

"Hey gang, are you guys hungry?" Ui asked. "We missed lunch."

"But you had a crepe and ice cream, Ui-sempai," Azusa said, unimpressed by the offer.

"It's a buffer, Azunyan."

"Buffer?"

"A buffer is not a meal, my dear. There is a difference." Mugi and Ritsu laughed at the comeback.

"All righty then, I'll go buy dinner for you guys," Mio said, offering her assistance.

"Excellent. I'll go come with you."

"Don't worry about it. Just leave it to me. You can save a space for us if you want."

"You remember the creek around the boardwalk?" Ritsu asked. "We'll be there."

"Got it!" And Mio took off.

The concert venue had a creek where the kids liked to wade around in. There were swaths of low clouds, but there would not be any rain for quite some time.

After grabbing some supplies from their camp and putting their ponchos away, Mio, Tsumugi, Ritsu and Azusa walked to a location by the creek near Tororo Heaven. "I suppose we'll go ahead and set up around here," Ritsu said.

Azusa agreed. "Good idea."

Tsumugi brought out a large blanket for Ritsu and Azusa to spread out. "Incoming!" Ui said, leaping towards the blanket as if it were a trampoline.

"Crap, you're heavy!" Azusa said.

"Does Yui do this too?" Ritsu wondered.

"I was in Yui mode," Ui explained.

Tsumugi blinked. "Oh my."

Mio ran back to the crew with some items that were not meals. "Mio-chan, there you are," Mugi said.

"Welcome back," Ui said. "Thanks, by the way."

"No problem," Mio replied. "They were selling T-shirts of the band with the left-handed guitarist!" It was official. Kamakiri was one of Mio's favorite bands.

Ui blinked. "What did you just buy again?"

Ritsu was beside herself. "The fucking hell, Mio? You were supposed to bring dinner for us, not this crap."

Mio wore her Kamakiri shirt with pride. "Look, I put it on, too!"

"Did you bring the food?" Ui asked.

"Great, I'm hungry, and now you're making me want one of those shirts," Ritsu said.

"You should buy one of them, too!" Mio said.

Mugi was in. "I want one, too!"

"I'm guessing that's a no," Ui concluded. "Let me take a look at that shirt." She took a look, groping her cleavage with both hands as she went along.

"Ahhh, ahhhh," Mio moaned. "Not too hard..."

"Hmmm, this shirt does emphasize your bust nicely. Looks good too. A nice fit."

"This shirt doesn't-aaah!-make me look-ohhh!-fat, does it?"

"I wouldn't think so."

"Nice," said Ritsu with a dirty face. Her cell phone rang. "Wonder who could this be? Ah, this is from Sawa-chan. She bought some takoyaki and will be here in a bit."

"Fabulous!" Mio said, relieved.

"Lesson to be learned, you guys," said Ui, still groping Mio, "never let Mio Akiyama order dinner. Let's leave it to Miss Sawako to bail us out of our hunger in the future, whenever we go out for a show as kick-ass as this."

"Ahhhh, mou!"

* * *

Finally the evening came, with the skies cleared and the lights over the valley. The show went on, and in a few stages, there were DJs playing techno music into the night. After they used the hotel's pool to get freshened up—the staff allowed fans to use the pool and showers in the hotel suites for this event as there were no public showers elsewhere—the group went to the gift shop to do some purchasing. Mugi and Ritsu bought their Kamakiri shirts, while Ui placed hers back in her pink bag. This would be a present for Yui. Mio took a look at the schedule of musicians.

No question, the Festival was beginning to die down, and it was time for the band to return to the camp

"That was a blast down at the White Garden," Sawako said, wiping her face with a towel. "Hard rock, alternative, heavy metal, jazz...this Natsu Rock Festival has something for everybody."

"It does, doesn't it?" Ui said. "And the food here is pretty good, too. And we can even take a bath down here. This place really treats its fans well."

"It's great," Mugi said.

"Although, I would have been happy if the staff had been prepared for the lunch rush."

"True, true."

Unfortunately for Azusa, who was in tears, she wasn't enjoying it. In spite of applying the sunscreen, she got sunburned. She probably didn't apply a strong enough sunscreen. "This hurts, huge and thick."

"Oh man, you really got burned again," Mio said sympathetically.

"Either that or she really had too much fun rocking her heart out," Ui added.

"Even putting the sunscreen on didn't work! Am I that cursed or something?" cried Azusa.

She went over to Azusa and hugged her, stroking her hair. "I like girls who have tans," Ui whispered, "so it's okay, Azunyan."

"Ui-sempai..."

As they both shared another long kiss, Ritsu grabbed Mio by the collar. "Hey! You got the friggin camera?"

She took a snap. "Done and done."

"Good."

Tsumugi's hands formed Vulcan V's on her cheeks. "Do you need a tissue, Mugi-chan?" Sawako asked her.

"Please?" She plugged her nostrils. "Thank you."

"All right guys, I'm gonna go ahead and hit the sack here. Anyone else with me?"

"What, already?" Ritsu asked.

"I gotta go catch on some sleep. If you guys want, you can go ahead and go ahead of me. I think I was headbanging too much and my neck hurts."

"Rocking and rolling all night and partying every day, huh? Such is the life of Sawa-chan." She turned at Ritsu with a disgusted look, her glasses glinting. Ritsu flailed. "Aside from teaching!" Sawako sighed and went back to the tent to officially call it a night.

* * *

Candles were lit back at Tororo Heaven by hundreds of fans that night. Some were large, some were small, some were in the medium, but all it formed a contrasting blend of pastel greens, oranges, blues and pinks.

The good thing about the second concession area where the country bands played was that the manager there, knowing of the situation at Tororo Heaven, was able to call for reinforcements and restock the stalls with food for its hungry concertgoers. This time, they brought double the usual supply to prepare for the wave, and it worked. Not a single fan left with their belly empty unless they didn't bother to make a purchase. Country music was on the rise in Japan, and a local band from Yuzawa was on hand to serenade its audience.

As Mio, Ritsu and Mugi checked the final acts on the Fire and Thunder Stages while browsing through the action at the White Garden, Ui chose to meditate at the top of the hill. She could see the lights of Yuzawa, the lights of the concert stages, and the stars above. No clouds, no rain, no wind. Just the dancing of the constellations that watched over Japan in their graceful Aquarian waltz.

Azusa walked over to Ui. "Sempai?"

She smiled. "Azunyan."

"What are you doing up here?"

"Reflection, meditation, remembering what it feels like to be here. It's a wonderful feeling. And I wanted to hear the music from a distance while hearing the music of nature. It's an eclectic mix. This is going to go deep into the night after all." Azusa just stood there, wondering if Ui was crazy enough to do this, or if she was crazier to follow Ui up the hill. "Have a seat, have a seat!"

"Um, all right," she said, taking a seat next to her. "Don't the bugs eat you alive if you sit here?"

"We still have our repellent on our wristbands and our arms and legs, so they won't bother the two of us."

"Oh. Good."

"Want an extra?" Ui handed her one.

"Thanks." Azusa looked at the wristband she just wore. "Sempai?"

"Sup?"

"You think we are going to be back here one day?"

"If Miss Sawako gives us tickets."

"I don't mean that. I mean...you think we are going to be back here one day as performers on stage?"

Ui leaned closer to Azusa. "Azunyan...I think anything is possible if you believe it. For me, I think we can be there again, and if we believe we can, we will. Imagine: 40,000 chanting out initials: 'H-T-T! H-T-T!' over and over and over again. And we're playing our music. They'll love us, because they believe we can be successful as a band."

"Sempai..." Azusa whispered.

"Today we are just fans watching them. The next time...it could be the fans watching us on the Fire Stage or the Thunder Stage or wherever they want to put us. We can do it. We just need to keep doing what we're doing." Azusa puckered her lips. "Huh? Did I say something weird, Azunyan?"

Her puckering became more pronounced. "Mmm-mmm! Mmm! Mmm!"

Ui chuckled. "Oh. That." Ui's and Azusa's lips met each other, and they passionately kissed each other in a long deep embrace, lying on the grass. Their tongues were dancing, and Ui worked her hands around Azusa's tanned and untanned skin, caressing her cleavage, stroking her curves and making her kouhai moan and smile with pleasure as it touched the sensitive spots on her body. "Azunyan...whenever I touch you, and kiss you, and hold you like this...I feel like I'm being taken higher, as if nothing else matters other than you being with me."

"Sempai...this feel so good...I don't know why, but I want you to do it to me more because it feels so good!"

"I like hearing that from you." It didn't matter if her shorts got drenched with the odor of consummation. What mattered was that it was because of the sempai she loved the most. For Azusa, no one could love her better than Ui. No one.

They went on like this for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes...all the way to a half hour until Mio, Tsumugi and Ritsu came up the hill to meet them.

"Mio-chan, do you have a tissue?" Mugi asked Mio.

"Here." She plugged her nostrils.

"That's better." Her hands formed V's on her cheeks. "Such a heavenly pair..."

"There you are," Ritsu said. "Lovebirds."

"We are not!" Azusa exclaimed. "In love..."

"Ohhhh? We'll just keep it a secret. No one's gonna find out or care. OUCH!" She ended up getting a headbump from Mio.

"Now you know better than to get involved into something that doesn't involve you," she said sternly.

"Anyway," Ui said. "you guys should go ahead and sit down here too. Let's listen to the music from up here. We're done hav-er, talking about being back here one day as performers."

"Mmm, talk about aspirations."

The five of them looked at the stars watching down on those sleeping, on those still celebrating the confluence of sound, and those who fell in love for the first time at the Natsu Rock Festival.

"This feels...like a dream," Mio said, looking at the fireflies of the cosmos.

"Yeah, it's a feeling unlike any other," Azusa replied.

Ui agreed. "It's one of the biggest places to hold a concert, and music is being performed all day and night. As if you never want this thing to end, you know?"

"And all the bands we saw today were great," Ritsu added. "Awesome to the infinite power."

"Especially Kamakiri, right?" Mio asked.

"Yeah, especially Kamakiri."

Tsumugi was mesmerized. "The power of it all...no, the force of the sound was just amazing. I can see why this is the best summer in Japan to go to. You can never be bored from watching and listening to something as amazing as this."

Ui then decided to bring it up again. "But you know what? I think our performance is even better."

"Why do you say that?" Ritsu said, shocked as ever with the others. "How can you compare us to the pros?"

"I can, and I think that we have the skills to not only bring something that 40,000—no, 50,000 or more will enjoy, but remember. We can do this, Ricchan. We just have to keep working at it, because that's what they did before they made it big. I think we are on pace to open up a lot of eyes and a lot of ears when we get on a big stage like what we just saw. I really believe it, and I'm not crazy either."

"You have to perfect playing your guitar a little bit better before you can say that, though."

"Still," Ui said, getting up and turning to the others, "we're better. You know the bands that are big today and you hear on the radio? They were unpolished back then, too. You see, you have to understand that it's a growing process. Maturation and all that crap. And with improvement as a band, we will reach that level sooner than you think. One day, we're gonna be the ones entertaining the fans, not be among the fans being entertained. It's in our aura, you know. It's our destiny. When we believe in ourselves, we can make the impossible possible."

"Those are some pretty big words. If you are, for some hare-brained reason, right...you can give me a headbump when we get on the Fire Stage."

"I don't deliver headbumps, Ritsu Tainaka. I only deliver rock and roll music."

"We know, Ui Hirasawa. We know. That, too."

Mio got up. "She's right, you know. Hokago Tea Time is an awesome band in its own right!"

"Mio?" Now Ritsu had to wonder if Mio was also losing it a bit.

"Right, Ui?"

"See, Ricchan?" Ui said. "She understands what I'm trying to tell you here. You could learn something from your next-door neighbor who has a crush on a left-handed guitarist from Kamakiri."

Tsumugi loved the enthusiasm and Azusa was amazed by Ui's enthusiasm. "Definitely. We are as good as the pros!" Azusa exclaimed, fists pumped.

Ritsu was wondering why she was the only one staying humble today. "You as well? Oh, dear God!"

"We will make a promise to ourselves," Mio said as Mugi got up. "The next time we come to the Summer Fest, we are coming here not as members of the audience, but as performers. If Miss Sawako wants to give us some tickets, we will have to decline her request and ask her to give it to the other people in her class because we don't want it."

"Holy cow," Ritsu said. "You and Ui are really on the same wavelength here! Jesus!"

Mugi agreed. "Yeah, we will be there on stage!" Four against one.

"Yeah!" Ui and Azusa said, raising their right fists in the air.

"I guess there's no helping it if we want to raise the bar for ourselves," Ritsu replied with a smile, consigning herself to the reality that awaited her. "It would be so cool if we could play here. All right, then. When we return to the Natsu Rock Festival, Hokago Tea Time is going to take this place by storm, and there will be NO turning back! I repeat, there will be NO turning back!"

"Amen, Ricchan!" Ui said. "She believes. We all do! Can I get a Hell Yeah?"

"HELL YEAH!" they all said, their fists raised in the air. The five of them—Mugi, Azusa, Ui, Ritsu and Mio—looked toward the lights with a new dream in mind, and another goal to accomplish for the long term.

Ui Hirasawa smiled, knowing that this dream would happen not too long from now. "I wish we can stay as a band for a long time. We have the same vision, the same ambition, and our friendship never wavers and gets stronger."

"Definitely," said Ritsu.

"You know it," Tsumugi said with a nod.

"So do I," Azusa said, content as ever.

"We will," Mio said. "We will. For a long, long time."

The band got some rest and departed for Tokyo the following morning, their dream fulfilled, a new dream ready to be planned, and precious memories to treasure from a weekend at the Natsu Rock Festival. All in all, summer was off to a flying start.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 12**


	13. Hey, Soul Sister

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 13:**

**Hey, Soul Sister**

* * *

Summer continued to chart its course, the winds blowing across the country, the sun casting long, cruel shadows on its citizens. Many were able to beat the heat; others were struggling to survive. Kill or be killed. Sink or swim. That was the deal that was dealt.

While the seniors were going through their academic work as part of their obligations to the school, a tanned Azusa Nakano relaxed in her living room for the afternoon, surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of records, sucking on a frozen watermelon popsicle and idly pressing a few keys on her cell phone. She opted to extend her well wishes to some close friends of hers—and very close friends at that. Her parents were on assignment, so they couldn't bother her. Next to her was Ton-chan, the class's pet turtle. Miss Sawako was able to carry the tank to her house, and just for good measure, they gave the tank a change of water. The tank sat next to Muttan, Azusa's Fender Mustang.

"I've decided to send you guys a late-summer greeting. More than half of summer vacation has passed, and I haven't seen you guys yet," she wrote on her mobile. A drop of dew from the watermelon fell on to her lap. Before she could send it, she stopped. "No, that seems a bit too formal," Azusa said. She could hear the cicadas outside singing, and the radio was blaring out Billy Idol's "Dancing with Myself" as she went on. "Ton-chan is doing well today. I gave him a slice of cucumber along with his five-grain feed this morning." Again, she stopped. "No, that's talking too much about Ton-chan..."

How was she going to express how she felt about her friends who she missed? What was the compromise going to be? "Are you guys making progress with your studies?" Once more, she stopped. "No, the answer would be so boring that I would be wondering why I even bothered to ask."

Her mobile rang. "Oh, this is from Ui-sempai." Now what could this be? She had to know. She really had to know. Her pulse quickened for a bit as she read the message.

"Azunyan, how are things?" Ui Hirasawa said through her message. "Just wanted to say thanks a lot for taking care of Ton-chan during the summer break. Right now, we're at the library doing some studying because we have to brush up for the fall."

"Holy cow, she sent me one first!" Azusa exclaimed, sweating as she saw a photo of her, Mio Akiyama and Ritsu Tainaka busy as bees. "And it's more of the same from the crew after all." It was the price she paid for not making her mind up. "I'm amazed that they're all busy studying. I thought they were all going to be slacking off at Ui's house or the music room, doing nothing. And Mugi-sempai is back in Finland." Once again, Tsumugi Kotobuki was on a trip to meet her extended family down in Helsinki. The hot springs seemed nice and tempting out there.

She decided to respond to the message. "Well, make sure that you don't regret the last summer you will have as high school students," she texted. As she hit the Send button, Azusa wore a concerned look on her face before slumping back on her sofa. "That was boring as fuck," she thought, "but it had to be done."

Ton-chan just wandered about in the water, not caring about the conversation. He was just happy to be alive under the watchful eye of his own sempai. The cicadas continued to buzz as the summer skies continued to circle out and about over Tokyo.

Eventually, Azusa was tired of sitting around. Stretching, she made a declaration to her own peace of mind. "Dammit, I am fed up with this. I'm going to go enjoy myself and have fun today!"

That's what she thought.

* * *

Azusa carried a watermelon from the neighborhood grocers on a sling towards Ui's house as a couple of young grade school girls passed by. She had to take care of the usual errands first before anything else. Well, this was one of the more unusual errands. Her tan had subsided for now, but later on it would come back.

As she got to the door of the house, she realized that it was open. Azusa chose to knock first. "Come in," Yui said. She came back from school and was lying on the floor in the living room, fanning herself.

"Hello. Is Ui-sempai there?"

"Onee-chan? Oh yeah, she's upstairs studying."

"Studying guitar? I hear music." Azusa placed the watermelon in the fridge.

"Oooh! Is that a watermelon?"

"Yui?"

She hustled to the fridge. "Oh my gosh! It's big! Where did you get it?"

"The neighborhood grocery. Tell Ui-sempai it's my present to her."

"Awww, I thought it was a present for me. But I will tell onee-chan that."

"Where's Ui-sempai again?"

"Onee-chan came back from the library, ate her lunch then went back to study, Azunyan. Now she's back in her room."

Azusa smiled. "As she should. You know, I like her level of responsibility."

"Isn't that great? She's now responsible for two things. That's what makes onee-chan the best."

"I can tell. I think you need to wait till she gets back before she can cut you a slice."

Yui returned to her spot on the floor. "Onee-chan must be taking a break. How about we bring her the watermelon? Then we can all have a watermelon party together!"

"What is exactly going through your mind, Yui? I'll go ahead and slice it for her."

"No, let me do it!"

"Yui?" Azusa watched her slice the watermelon in half, perfectly, straight down the middle. Yui then placed one of the halves on a table.

"How's that?"

"Oh dear God."

"I like to eat a watermelon with a spoon, starting from the center, but I want onee-chan to try it, too."

Azusa was aghast "Huh?"

Ui heard some knocking on her bedroom door as Yui got upstairs. "Hey Yui!"

Yui brought a plate of watermelon. "Here, Azunyan brought some watermelon, onee-chan!"

"Thanks, but I want you to cut it a little bit more."

"I thought you wanted to eat it with a spoon?"

"No thanks. That's your department." Azusa had to smile. "You know what? I changed my mind. I guess I'll give a try. But first...I need to go back to practicing on Gitah."

"All right." Yui watch Ui play a little "Fuwa Fuwa Time" before returning to Azusa. "I put it in front of the door for her."

"The ants won't be attracted, will they?"

"Nope. We just put some insecticide on the walls, so they should be fine."

"Hey, I'm hearing something different." The chords, the melody. "Is that 'Hey Soul Sister' by Train?"

Yui smiled. "Is that the song? I heard about it."

"She doesn't eat while playing the guitar, does she?"

"She does. When it's lunch, she gets a rush of energy and is at her best when she plays. Isn't that amazing?"

Azusa had to laugh it off. "So she does. Did she eat some zarusoba?" That was buckwheat noodles in a bamboo basket with dipping sauce, said to have some amazing, unknown power.

"Onee-chan gets tired easily when she eats just that, though, so she amped it up by making it a Tenzaru." She pointed to a plate of tempura, fried vegetables and other delicacies that Ui made, to Azusa's surprise. "Clever, huh?"

"Oh God, no way, no fucking way! Tempura...and watermelon...shit, I gotta save her!"

"Is there a problem?" Yui asked, tilting her head slightly.

Azusa ran over to Ui's room. "Don't eat iiiiiiit!" she screamed.

She scratched her cheek. "I guess this may not be a good thing after all." It wasn't. Seriously. It wasn't.

Azusa got to the stairs. "Ui-sempai!"

"Uh oh...onee-chan?"

She heard the strains of the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." It was too late. "Oh my fucking God..." she whispered in horror as the sounds of misery and food poisoning played out. She was going to die, her bowels about to rupture...

* * *

Azusa got back to her senses. She was still tanned, and her watermelon popsicle was melting, with a few fragments on the sofa. She looked at her surroundings. The same records were still there, the same sofa she was sitting on was still there, the cicadas were still buzzing. She was staring at the same ceiling that she was closing her tired eyes to.

"A dream?" The whole thing was just a dream. The others were still at the library studying, with the exception of Tsumugi. Everything was all right. Everything was all right. There was no way Ui was that vulnerable to such a fate. Impossible. She draped an arm over her eyes, exasperated. "I'm too young to have nervous breakdowns like this. Really, I am! This can't be happening to me, not here, not now!"

Azusa heard the doorbell ring. "Who could that be?" she asked. "Yes?"

The door opened. It was Yui. "Yoo hoo!"

"Come on in. I took a nap, sorry."

She went inside. "No problem. You all right?"

"Oh man, I had a very bad dream while I was sleeping. I don't even want to talk about it. "

"You've got a really good tan. Are you one of Azusa's friends from Brazil? How's Rio these days?"

"Hold on, you came to MY house, didn't you?"

"My apologies, for a moment I thought you were some girl from Brazil on a home visit."

"Idiot! It's me!"

Yui laughed. "I knew it was you. I was only kidding."

Azusa sat down, learning on the wall. "Geez, quit playing games!" She yawned, stretching for emphasis. "I hate tanning this easily. It sucks."

"Azunyan, you seem a bit sleepy."

"I was watching TV yesterday, and before I knew it, it was late at night. And because of that, I've been sleepy since morning," Azusa said with another yawn.

"Well, you are on vacation, Azunyan, so you can be lazy."

"Please...don't say lazy."

"I'm kidding, kidding."

"So anyway, what should I do now?"

Yui was deep in thought for a few fleeting moments. "Hmmm. I got an idea. Let's bring Nodoka-chan over and have some fun together."

"That would be nice, but...didn't she say she would be on a special retreat with the student council over the summer break?"

Yui leaned closer. "I think in that case, we should bring her some food."

She produced a box lunch. "I bought this down at the Lawson up the street."

"Hmmm. I guess we should."

After getting back in uniform, Yui and Azusa rendezvoused back on campus and the student council room, cocking their ears to see if she was there. Azusa had to wear a long skirt to hide her tan. "Not here," Yui said.

"I think the student council all went on their retreat today," Azusa replied, clearly disappointed. "I think it's for the bon festival. Since we're here, how about we both eat in the club room?"

"Ehhh? Really?"

"Yeah, I'm getting a bit hungry. Let's do it. I do have to get the key, though. I wonder if there are any teachers already here."

They opened the door. To their luck, Miss Sawako Yamanaka was there to greet them. "Hello, excuse me," Azusa said.

"Ah, hi there," Sawako said. "And who might you be?"

Azusa threw her hands up in disgust. "Oh my God! Weren't you with me at the Summer Fest several days ago?"

"She was with you at the Summer Fest several days ago," Yui added.

"I know, I know," Sawako replied. "I was only kidding. You need something?"

"Well, we had some food for the Student Council, but we didn't see anybody inside."

"It's because of the bon festival."

"I knew it," she said to a nodding Yui, snapping her fingers.

"The teachers aren't here either. They went to either do some traveling or reunite with their families. As a result, I'm on duty now and I have plenty of stuff to take care of."

"Wow," Yui said. "Sawa-chan is so busy."

"So you call me that as well, huh?" Sawako had to chuckle. "Oh, you." That was Yui's style.

Azusa admitted that Miss Sawako's workload made her a bit of a loner this week. "Kind of a drag, I see." How sympathetic. "You're still able to get sleep, right, Miss Sawako?"

"Heh. I hope so."

"Anyway, can we get the key to the club room upstairs?"

"Here's some sakura-flavored jello," Yui said, offering a cup.

"Awww, how nice of you," the teacher said, accepting the snack with keen eagerness.

"Sawa-chan, you've been taking care of onee-chan every time. You are the best. I wish I could be one of your students. You're awesome."

"Gee, thanks for the compliments. Actually, I hear from some of the students in the homeroom I teach, Class 3-2, that Ui-chan has been doing the work and taking care of them and even giving them pointers with their assignments. So it's taken a lot of the burden off of me."

"Ehhhhh? Wow. That's onee-chan for you."

"I never thought that Ui-sempai took the bull by the horns when taking the initiative to help her fellow students," Azusa said. "Then again, that's so like her."

"It is. But really, though," Sawako added, "I should be the one thanking you because the club always lets me chill out with them in the music room every afternoon. It's beautiful stuff."

Something Yui noticed the past few days came to her attention. "Oh, Sawa-chan, lately onee-chan has been chatting with some of the students in my class as well. I remembered that yesterday, a few of my classmates told me that onee-chan was playing 'Fuwa Fuwa Time' and 'Fude Pen' on her guitar. Is that true?"

"To be honest with you, I don't know all the details, but I do know that they were treated to a show downstairs on the second floor, so I guess it is. I can tell you that showed me autographs of your sister."

Yui pounded the desk in shock, surprising Miss Sawako. "Eh? For real? I can't believe it. Onee-chan is now...a celebrity!"

"What a nice little sister," Azusa thought. That's all she could think of.

The two of them obtained the key from the janitor on the premises and went upstairs to the old stomping grounds of the music room. Azusa watched the track team do some stretching before going on a conditioning run around the neighborhood. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight," the team said as they stretched.

Instead of turning on the air conditioner, Azusa opened the windows and a fresh gust of wind blew across her hair. It wasn't as hot as before. In fact, it was a bit more tolerable. "Did Nodoka send you anything yet?"

"Nothing, Azunyan," Yui said, disappointed. "I wonder what Nodoka-chan is doing, too." She opened the box. "I think she is having fun somewhere else."

"Somewhere else, huh? Does she like to travel?"

"Well, Nodoka-chan always told me that she wanted to visit Spain one day."

"Spain? Which part of Spain?"

"I think the place is called Madrid."

"Hmmm."

"But I don't think she would be able to afford it, but if she does, I would like to see the photos. Anyway Azunyan, do you like peaches or plums?"

"Plums for me," Azusa said.

"All right, here you go." Yui handed her a cup of plum-flavored jello as she took the peach-flavored cup. They both dug right in. "Hey, this is great."

"Yeah, it is."

"I think it got kind of warm."

Azusa frowned. "You're right, it did. Summer heat can do that to these types of things."

After they finished, Azusa continued to look outside the window and could see the track team jog in two straight, perfect lines up the sidewalk as they left the campus. "There they go," she said to Yui.

"Who?" she asked, half-asleep on the table.

"Our track team. They're on their afternoon run."

"That's nice."

"Anyway, I'm going to go sleep," Azusa said as she lay down on the sofa for an unannounced visit with the sandman.

Yui got up, stretched and watched Azusa sleeping. She could sense her heart starting to skip one beat, then two, then three. "So beautiful, even when she is tanned," she thought. Yui went in closer, stroking her hair that smelled of strawberries and whipped cream. It was like a dessert. "What shampoo did Azunyan used? This is too much!"

Her breathing started to becoming pronounced. To see Azusa sleeping like a cat, a kitten that needed shelter from the heat, a kitten that needed to be loved like no else would...she needed affection. It was just the two of them. This was the perfect opportunity for Yui to show her feelings for Azusa. Azusa never acknowledged in full the feelings Ui's younger sister had for her, and she was going to acknowledge them now.

To Yui's shock, Azusa lay on her back, her eyes half-open. She knew Yui wanted to feel her. This was a shock to her, that she could be this open to the touch and feel of both of the Hirasawa sisters. It used to be Ui, but now it was Yui. "I know you want to play with me," she said in a voice drenched with naughty, haughty undertones.

"Azunyan..." Yui felt her pulse, then took a big gulp as she lay next to her. "Don't you already have onee-chan? She wants you more than I do...right?"

She took off her vest, undoing the buttons on her shirt and her tie before putting a finger to Yui's shuddering lips. "I can be greedy and have both of you if I want."

"Greedy?"

Azusa brushed aside Yui's bangs, kissing and licking her forehead. "Mmm-hmmm."

"Azunyan..." Yui's body heat intensified as she slowly took her vest off and Azusa, with one slight pull, undid her tie. She was in a trancelike state, Yui was, as Azusa cupped the breasts that were covered by her pink-and-white stripe bra.

"I have to take this off," Azusa said. As she did, a shower of kisses splashed around Yui's perfectly-curved figure, triggering a passionate cry Azusa's nickname ecstatically. Surreal as it was, it wasn't long before Yui gave up any resistance. She decided to let her twin-tailed ladyfriend, who let down her hair accelerate her aggressive, lustful advances.

"Two can play at that game, right?" Yui had to counter. Azusa's body received the same shower of love, the same shower of affection, the same shower of pleasure. Only for her, it was stronger and more pronounced because she was more sensitive in the spots that felt so good. Azusa wanted that touch, that assuring feeling, that jolt of energy that gave her a spring in her step. And to think it would come from Ui's younger sister, of all the people in this cruel, cruel world! Before Azusa knew it, Yui's head was under her skirt, her face soaking and her tongue lapping the gushing wetness that was below her garments, that spot between her legs, the fuel and reason behind her drive. It wasn't long before Azusa released herself, with Yui's bliss having reached its peak through a loud moan that reverberated across the room and the empty floors of the building. Yui wanted her to come, but Azusa was already there.

"I think we need to put our clothes back on," Azusa said to Yui as they both cleaned themselves up.

"That felt nice, Azunyan. I didn't know you wanted it that bad."

"Look who's talking," she giggled. Both of them could hear the track team come back from their afternoon jog outside.

"Quiet outside, isn't it?"

Azusa took a good look as she fixed her tie, held her hair back in her signature twin tails and put her vest back on. "They're back. The track team." "The track team?"

"Yeah. Those guys. Hope they're not too tired." She went to the table and rested her head and arms on it, yawning again. "You know, if the other members were here, we could, like, do something awesome."

"As expected of Azunyan," Yui said, idly staring at the ceiling with her hands behind her head. "How about this? How about we go to the movies after this?"

"The movies? What is there to watch?" Azusa was not a movie person. The last time she ever went to the local cinema was six years ago, and that was for a chick flick that had pretty bad acting.

"Well, there's Inception, The Expendables, The Losers, Dinner for Schmucks, and Prince of Persia. Oh yeah, and there's The Last Airbender."

"I guess I'll give it a shot. I don't like Leonardo Di Caprio, but I don't dislike him, either."

"So you want to watch Inception?"

"Is that what he stars in? Yeah."

Yui nodded. "All right."

"Moviz Two Door Cinema Club," Yui read. "That's the name of the movie place?" They both looked at the sign.

Azusa stood on her tippy toes to get a better view. "You are absolutely right. Hey look, they got the film we want to watch." Inception, starring Leonardo Di Caprio. Azusa and Yui took their seats after Yui bought a tub of popcorn and a couple ice cream bars for good measure. "You sure like to live it up."

"Don't I ever? Hey Azunyan."

"What?"

"Say Ahhh." She was offering her ice cream.

"Ahhh." Azusa chomped at the bar, and her face sparkled. "Mmmm. That's great."

"Isn't it? Oh look Azunyan, they're starting the show. Heehee, this is going to be epic."

Indeed it was. Yui gawked at the special effects as Azusa worked on the tub. "Not bad," Azusa said.

"Look at all those blocks going up and down, up and down. How do they do that."

"I think it's through computer programming."

"Computer programming?"

"Yeah. Some people program the blocks to go up and down, then the actors simulate it through a stage they build during production. I think that's how they do it."

"Whoa...hey, hey, Azunyan."

"What?" she asked, continuing to munch.

"Next time we come here, we should buy four ice cream bars instead of two."

"Ah, mou!" she shouted. The others put fingers to their lips as if to say "Shhh..." Azusa blushed.

Mio walked into the room to the sound of an explosion, which caused her to cower.

"Mio-sempai, is that you?" Azusa asked.

"Y...yes, it's me," she said.

"Oh, it's Mio-chan," Yui said. "Hello. Do you want me to buy you some ice cream? Hold on a bit."

Azusa held her back. "No, stay here."

"Awwww. Azunyan, that's no fun."

Mio took her seat. "I think she uses these types of movies as special training to overcome her fears."

"Oooooh."

"This is getting pretty intimidating, but..."

"Azunyan, popcorn please?" She handed Yui the tub.

"I wonder if this will be fine for Mio-sempai." Another explosion, replete with the Hans Zimmer backing tracking. Mio stood still. "Hmmm, impressive, that Mio-sempai. I think her training is paying off. But with the way the movie's plot is thickening, the next scene is going to be even more scarier."

Azusa was right. Another explosion. "Hmmm, I think we should have bought a bigger tub," Yui said, frowning.

"That was the largest size they had," Azusa said.

"Booooo." Another explosion sent Azusa running for cover. Mio was still. "Excuse me while I throw this away," said Yui, moving past her to throw away the wrappers and the tub at a bin near the entrance. "There we go. Hey, another explosion. Man. This movie is awesome!"

But Azusa knew that something was going on. "I think it's someone else. This isn't Mio. I need to find out." She reached out and peered. "Son of a bitch, she fainted!"

"Ehhhh, what happened, is something the matter?" Yui asked, peering over Mio's shoulder. Her eyes were glazed, with a hideous grin to boot. She looked at Azusa, Mio, and then Azusa. "Uh oh. Maybe she doesn't like Leonardo Di Caprio?"

"Now I know. I knew something weird was going on with her." A cell phone was ringing.

"Oh, Azunyan, your cell," Yui said, breaking out a spare pack of Junior Mints she was able to buy as a safety net.

"That's not mine. It's Mio-sempai's."

"Mio-chan?" Yui peered over. "Mio-chan, Mio-chan, you're supposed to turn off your cell phone during the movie." She was silent, as if she was dead on the spot. "A doornail. Dead as."

"Yeah, you're supposed to turn them off during the movie. Maybe she didn't get the message because she was inside the place so late." She glanced over at Mio, whose mobile continued to ring, as if death came ready to knock at her door. "Sempai!"

* * *

Azusa woke up. She was by herself, tanned, in her uniform, and she had slept through another nightmare in the music room. "Dammit, another bad dream." It was Yui's own mobile that was ringing. "Yui, your phone."

"Ehhhh?" She rubbed her eyes as she stirred. "All right." Yui answered the phone. "Oh, it's from Nodoka-chan."

"It is, huh?"

Yui showed her a picture of Nodoka with her extended family and her grandmother and grandfather next to her. Grandpa to the left, grandma to the right, and all her cousins, uncles and aunts all around. "She decided to visit her grandparents and family down in the countryside for the bon festival. It's a drag without Nodoka-chan..."

"I know. So what are you going to do?"

"Hey, Nodoka-chan," Yui said, texting her, "I hope we can have a lot of fun when you return."

"That's all?"

"That's all," Yui said, hitting "Send."

"Svelte."

Outside campus, the hustle and bustle of the big city gave away to some bargains, some shopping, and some peace of mind. Azusa and Yui entered the Moviz Two Door Cinema Club.

"You wanted to watch Inception, right, Azunyan?" Yui asked.

"No, I'll watch this instead," she said, pointing. Teto was the story of a young boy and his dog that saved his life. It was a touching tale that was nominated for several Academy Awards the following year. There was some very good acting in this one as well. The actor who played the young boy would go on to a storied career performing on the silver screen for a few decades.

"Ehhh, but the next showing is going to take a while," Yui said.

"No problem, let's go somewhere to kill time while we're at it."

"You sure?"

"Yep!"

"All right." It was always a good idea to go places when they were waiting to a film that tugged at the heartstrings as Teto did.

Azusa passed by a stall of greeting cards with Yui. "That's reminds me, I forgot to send one of those."

"Which ones?"

"Greeting cards. Maybe I should do a postcard?"

Yui was enthusiastic. "Go for it, Azunyan; why not?"

"The problem here," Azusa said, "is that I used a lot of my money at the Summer Fest."

"The Natsu Rock Festival, right? So you're stuck between a rock and a hard place."

Azusa looked down at her shoes, defeated as they passed by some gachapon stalls and read some magazines at Lawsons to pass the time. "Exactly. I think getting some part-time work would be a good idea."

"I think that would be great, Azunyan."

"You think so? Hmmmm...when Nodoka comes back, we'll go ahead and have some fun together. It really sucks to not see her here."

"I agree with you two hundred and fifty percent!"

"Two hundred and fifty percent?"

"Yes. Two hundred and fifty percent. As expected of Azunyan."

"Aw, shucks, you're giving me too much praise, Yui." She was. "What are you reading?"

Yui's eyes were blazing. "I want to also find a job, too. How about this?" She showed Azusa a possible position, and the guitarist had her reservations. Flipping burgers at Max Burger.

"The salary's a bit too low. You sure?"

"But this will be fun. We can do this! You and me, Azunyan!"

"Isn't there anything else?"

"How about this?"

Multi-Level Marketing, otherwise known as MLM. More reservations. "15,000 yen a day is a bit bogus, don't you think?" What were they, NEETs?

Yui flipped through a few more pages as Azusa looked on with a sense of worry. Her eyes caught the attention of an ad posted on one of the store columns. "Okay, how about that?" she asked Azusa, pointing.

"A lottery assistant?" They both took a closer look at the details. "Oooh, this might pay well."

"Let's check it out."

A big, burly man came over. "Girls, I am so glad you're here. You're both hired."

"We are?" Azusa asked, blinking.

"I'll show you the ropes, kids. It's easy." So much for watching Teto. They were out to do some work.

Nothing out of the ordinary; regular customers crank a wheel hoping for a gold ball to come out, which means they win one of the better prizes available. If it was a red ball, they got tissues. That was the drill.

A frequenter from Machida came over to try her luck. The ball came out. Color: Red. "Here's your prize," Yui said, procuring a pack of tissues. "7th place, pocket tissues.

"Thank you very much for playing," both of them said to the customer, who left.

"I think Mugi-sempai would have loved to try her hand at this," Azusa said to Yui. "I could imagine the joy in her face."

"Isn't this fun? I'm having a blast."

Azusa looked at the piles of prizes remaining. They had been working for four, maybe five hours. "So there's only the first-place prize—a trip to Finland—and the seventh place prize—pocket tissues—remaining...we've been working hard. So there's only one red ball and one golden ball remaining."

"Azunyan, you look so cute in that outfit."

"I do?"

"Yeah."

Azusa blushed. "You also look...cute."

"Eheheheheheh..."

Azusa looked at the box with the crank. "Only one red and one gold remaining."

Tsumugi Kotobuki came over, apparently done with her visit in Finland to say hello. "Hello you guys!"

Azusa was shocked. "Mugi-sempai!"

"Oh, Mugi-chan. Afternoon," Yui said, bowing.

"Didn't you go to Finland?"

"Actually," Mugi explained, "I was done with my visiting a day early, and so I wanted to try my hand the shopping district lottery. It has always been my dream to spin this thing and get a pocket tissue."

"Wow, I thought it was working the stall here," Yui said, shrugging her shoulders. "Okay, Mugi-chan, spin the wheel!"

"Okay, here I go!" She came it a good crank.

"Oh Lord, please send us your divine intervention and give Mugi-sempai her pocket tissues," Azusa prayed.

"Are you praying for something, Azunyan?" Yui asked.

"Oh, nothing, nothing, nothing, I just wanted to pray that she...got the ball she wanted..."

"Ohhh. Que sera, sera, I guess."

As if in slow motion, the ball came out. To their relief. t was red. "Seventh place prize, pocket tissues!" Yui exclaimed. "Congratulations, Mugi-chan."

"I did it! Thank you, Yui-chan. You're such a darling."

"Eheheheheheh..."

"Awesome," Azusa said to herself, "but that means...the next spinner will get the trip to Finland!"

Yui threw the gauntlet down ever so subtly. "Hey Azunyan, how about you give it a spin?"

"I don't think we're supposed to as lottery assistants," she exclaimed.

"I have another lottery ticket," Mugi added.

Azusa had second thoughts. "I guess that all right, since it's yours. Here." Azusa spun the wheel. It was only a matter of time before that box spat out that golden ball, ending the drawing...and it did.

The three of them were elated. "We did it!" Mugi said.

Yui was ecstatic. "Awesome, Mugi-chan!"

Azusa was equally captive in her convictions. "You're the best, Mugi-sempai!"

"I try, I try," Mugi replied, brushing her hair aside.

Yui grabbed the bell, signaling that the grand prize had been won. "We have a winner of the Grand Prize everyone: a trip to Finland! Congratulations, Azunyan!"

Azusa had to intervene. "Hold on. This isn't a dream, is it? Can the two of you pinch my cheeks for a bit?"

"Should we?" Yui asked Tsumugi.

"Why not?"

"All right. Here goes nothing. One, two..."

Azusa felt the sensations. "It's not all right!"

"Isn't it fine even if it is a dream?" Mugi asked Azusa.

"You get to go to Finland, too!" Yui said. "I'm so jealous, Azunyan!" Yui rang the bell again, wishing her best friend in twin tails well to the land that Mugi also called home. "Congratulations, Azunyan! Congratulations, Congratulations..."

* * *

"Teto! Teto!" Such a poor, blonde boy. "No way..."

It wasn't Teto, that tragic wonder dog, that woke up. It was Azusa. Fate can be such a cruel thing to anyone. Sometimes it isn't fair. And sometimes what seemed to be just wasn't. Yui realized before they were about to go to the lottery stall that Teto was about to start. They had to hurry, else the doors would be locked. And Azusa was sleeping through a great deal of the movie as Yui's tears were streaming down her face.

"Don't leave me anymore, Teto!" cried the boy as the dog leaped into his arms.

"Dammit, I woke up before going to Finland," Azusa said.

"Teto-chan...I will never, ever forget you," Yui whispered lustily amidst the quiet hush of the Two Door Cinema Club. For Azusa, she wanted to forget that she ever missed one of the best flicks of the summer.

* * *

The following day, Nodoka Manabe came back from her trip to see her parents. Another lone cicada rested in the shade as summer plotted its course. "How was your trip, Nodoka-chan?" Yui asked.

"It was more of the same. I can't believe that Grandma now owns a computer. I never thought that she would actually have her own Facebook account, but that's what I've come to accept."

"A computer, huh?" wondered Yui, staring at the sky. "Oh, come to think of it, onee-chan has her own laptop as well. Hmmm..."

"Did you want one as well?"

She flailed. "No, no, I was just spacing out again."

Nodoka put a palm to her forehead. "That's just so like you, Yui." She took a look at her watch. "We're supposed to be going somewhere, right?"

"Yep."

"I think Azusa is a bit late."

"Yep. Sometimes Azunyan's like that."

"Hmmmm."

Finally, Azusa arrived, still tanned as always. Sorry; it took me a while to get ready.

"Ah, Azunyan, there you are!" Yui said, relieved. "Better late than never, I think."

"You got a really bad tan, Azusa," Nodoka said with a sad expression.

Azusa's face spoke more of the same. "This always happens to me. I tan easily."

"I hope that won't be a problem when we go there."

"Don't worry Nodoka-chan," assured Yui, "it won't be."

The three of them waited for the train at the platform. "So I still ask myself," Nodoka said to the others, "why is Azusa so sunburned? Why is that? Can I get an explanation?"

Azusa found it difficult to put it into words. "Well, if I stay out for a while, I always get sunburned. I think it takes like, I don't know, 20-30 minutes and then my skin ends up like this. It's not a nice feeling. Then when I get into the water to take a bath, it's painful, and it has to be very cold."

"Oh. That's not good."

Yui was deep in thought. "20-30 minutes...is that how long it takes for the next train to get down here."

"We're not riding a special line here, so it should be a shorter wait time," Nodoka explained.

Azusa went on. "I went to the Summer Fest with the rest of the Light Music Club, and I ended up with a bad sunburn like you see right now."

"I think those types of things can do that to you. You're right; it's not a nice feeling. I wouldn't want that."

"No, you wouldn't."

"I've never been to the Summer Fest. Maybe I should ask somebody for tickets."

"Miss Sawako gave us her tickets this year. Next year, I'll ask her if she can ask her friends to bring extra."

"That's a big ask right there."

"I see what you did there."

"Third base!" they both said to each other, pointing.

Yui, naturally, was clueless. "Huh?" she asked, scratching her head with a raised eyebrow.

"Anyway," Nodoka said, "it would be nice if you tried your hand at joining the Light Music Club, Yui?"

"But...I'm not good enough!"

This is where Azusa came in with her speech of reassurance. "I'm in the same class as you. I can teach you?"

"Really?"

"Yep. Really."

She grabbed Azusa's tanned hands, sparkles decking her eyes. "I will be lonely again!"

Azusa looked away, embarrassed. "No...you won't..."

"Azusa," Nodoka said, "you were at the training camp at the beach last year and the year before that right?"

"No, just the one before."

"Oh yeah, you're right. I think it was at the villa with the studio that Tsumugi had, based on what she told me."

"Holy cow," Yui said. The clasp was tighter, her pulse quickening. "A studio? A villa?"

"Let go of my hands," Azusa pleaded, "they're hurting..." She let go. "So you do want to join, right?"

"I still have to think about it," Yui said.

Azusa raised an eyebrow. "You're THAT indecisive?"

Nodoka shrugged. "Yui is like that."

Yui made up her mind. "Next year, I will."

"Cool. That means we have to look for two more members next year."

"And I will help you find members, too!"

"Excellent."

"That was quick," Nodoka remarked.

* * *

The train stopped by a water park in the heart of Odaiba, where the three of them chose to enjoy themselves. They didn't realize that the other members would also be there.

Yui was wearing a blue two-piece with a mini sarong, while Nodoka opted for a purple two-piece string bikini. "That looks great on me, Nodoka-chan!" Yui said, beaming.

"You think so? I think this looks a bit tight on me, but I suppose it looks good," she said, looking at herself in the mirror of the change rooms. "This was one of the newer outfits that came out."

"Nice. That's what people call...moe."

"Moe?

"Yeah, moe."

"Hmmm.

Yui turned around. "Hey Azunyan, did you finish changing yet?"

Azusa stuck to her signature casual pink one-piece with diagonal frills. "Please don't look," she said, embarrassed. Those tan lines on her left arm, back and thighs were too obvious.

"Hey soul sister, those are some delicious tan lines right there," Nodoka said with a smile.

"Gaaah! A Train reference?" They both had to laugh. "Dammit, I'll kill both of you!" Azusa screamed, flailing without proviso. She chose to cover herself with a towel to avoid further embarrassment, shuddering and trying to hold back tears.

"Azunyan...did we overdo it?" Yui asked Nodoka.

"I think we did. Hey, I have an idea."

"Ehhhh? What is it, Nodoka-chan?" Azusa also wanted to know.

"I think if we cover your entire body, then it wouldn't be a problem."

Naturally, Azusa had to think about that. "My entire body?" The idea of being a mummy for the afternoon in Odaiba would be hard to stomach. There were girls in Shibuya who went for the ganguro look, too. But the issue was those tan lines. How would the public receive such monstrosities? Then there was the issue of looking like a tourist from India. Now those people had some tans. Natural. It was in their DNA, just like their penchant for all things spicy and full-flavored (and vegetarian in some instances. Well done that diet). Azusa shook her head side to side. "No way! No way! No-!" Before she knew it, Yui was glomping her, rubbing her mounds a little.

"I don't care if you're tanned or not; Azunyan is still Azunyan to me!" Yui squealed.

"Mou...anyway," Azusa said as Yui let go, "that would be even worse. You guys can go enjoy yourselves, I'm gonna stay here."

"Ehhhh? But it wouldn't be fun without Azunyan here."

"We're not going to make fun of you, we promise," Nodoka said. "We're going to think twice before we do that from now on."

"Yeah, what she said! Think twice, think twice!"

"No, you guys can have fun without me," Azusa said. "When I say I'll stay here. I'll stay here." And she did.

* * *

Nodoka had a ball with her as they both entered the pool. "Here it comes, Yui, you ready?"

"Yep."

"Take...that!" She tossed it high in the air.

Yui struggled a little bit before coming down with it in the water. "I did it."

"There you go. You know, I think it was pretty smart for me to go with you today."

"Isn't it great? And the water feels so good." Yui turned to Azusa who was sitting by the wall, curled into a ball and frowning.

"I kind feel bad for Azusa," Nodoka said. "No one needs to have to tan that easily as her, Yui. She doesn't deserve it."

"Should we go get her?"

"Yeah. Azusa, let's head up the slide!"

She did. Azusa, Nodoka and Yui took a climb up the ladder to the top of the waterslide. She was amazed at the height of it all. It was a long chute, standing ten stories tall, the biggest slide in the entire park. Well, it was the ONLY slide, too, but that was beside the point.

"Whoa," Nodoka said, getting a good view, "this is pretty high."

"Wow, this is amazing," Yui said. "Go first, Azunyan."

"Eh?" She was intimidated by this. The hope was that she didn't fall off the slide.

"If you're going to slide, don't forget to eat this!" Ritsu said, offering a plate of yakisoba. Apparently the band came back from their studies and—through some insiders—tracked down Azusa, Yui and Nodoka. "Here, take this." And would anyone believe this; the happy-go-lucky drummer/club president had a summer job at the water park. It wasn't just checking the traffic, it was serving food to patrons at the water slide.

"Ritsu-sempai?" Azusa couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Why the hell are you here?"

"The hottest trend this summer," Ritsu said with a game expression, "is to slide with a yakisoba. It's fun and fills you up! Watch how they do it below," she said, pointing with her thumb.

Ui in her white two-piece, Tsumugi in her beige with orchid print and Mio in her dark blue two-piece with white and orange accents were making their way down, eating yakisoba as they went. Generally, no food or drinks were allowed on the slides, but apparently the park staff decided to try an exception for a week. Unfortunately, it slipped from their fingers as they got to the bottom. It was going to be difficult to begin with, if not impossible, given the physics.

"This isn't going to work," Ui said. "Dammit!"

"I failed again," Mugi added with a bleak smile. "I couldn't eat it."

"Ritsu, can we try this one more time?" Mio asked.

"I wanna try it again, please!" Ui holler.

"Me too!" Tsumugi said.

"Sure thing, soul sisters, hey!" Ritsu shouted from the top, pushing her kouhai partner on. "All right, Azusa, give it a try! Get going!"

"Fine, fine, you don't have to push me. Huh?" Ritsu placed the platter of the good on her head. "Why is this on my head?"

Eventually in spite of her intimidation, Azusa gave it a go, trying to hold on to her yakisoba as she slid.

"Have a safe trip!" Ritsu said as she went down.

"There she goes," Yui said, waving.

"We're next by the way," said Nodoka, waving while pointing at her friend in blue.

"Oh yeah, that's right, Nodoka-chan. I nearly forgot."

Azusa had a difficult go with this one, but was able to hold on to her yakisoba as she slid down the chute. She could see the water below and was amazed by the epic magnitude of it all. "Holy cow," she gasped. "This view is...!" Mio, Ui, and Tsumugi could only watch as their guitarist friend came crashing into them...

* * *

And once again, Azusa woke up from another dream she didn't expect. Personally, she wondered how many more of these visions she was going to get before she officially lost her sanity as a maiden. But there was no doubt about it: Azusa Nakano really wanted the rest of HTT to be with her and make it a summer.

And yet, Ui, Mio, Tsumugi and Ritsu were still busy working on their academic ventures, plodding their way through notes, exercising their minds going miles every minute with research. Heck, they could do a case study on Azusa if they wanted to! First, it was Ui and Tenzaru. Next, it was Mio dying from seeing a horror film. Now it was the unusual thought—perhaps instigated by Mugi's hankering for yakisoba at the Natsu Rock Festival—of eating yakisoba while going down a waterslide. Next to her was a sign that said, "No Eating or Drinking Outside or Inside the Slide." The park staff had not lost their sanity. But for Azusa, she seemed to be on her way.

A voice called to her attention to her right. "Hey A~~~zunyan!" It was Yui. She and Nodoka were carrying plateload of a certain noodle dish.

"Huh? Oh, it's you, Yui. What is it?"

"We brought some yakisoba." The thought caused Azusa to blink.

"There was a long line," Nodoka explained. "We do apologize for being a bit late." She took a long look and placed her hand on Azusa's shoulder. "Unbelievable. Your whole body's almost sunburned. Did you bring some sunscreen or something?"

"I did, but it won't even work," she frowned. "I tried it at the Summer Fest, and it wouldn't work. Isn't that awesome or what?"

"Wow, it is that bad," Yui said.

"I know you were being facetious when you said that, Azusa," Nodoka added, tilting her head sympathetically.

The three of them snacked on the yakisoba quietly in the shade of an umbrella, still wondering why Azusa was still sunburned. In the background, Gigi d'Agostino's "L'Amour Toujours" was playing. "I think the yakisoba here at this place is quite good," Nodoka said.

"Man, this is awesome," Yui added. "I never knew it would taste this great."

"Yummy," Azusa said quietly, working on her plate. "You know, guys, Mugi-sempai was looking forward to this stuff down at the Summer Fest, but they ran out before there could be any left. If she were here, we wouldn't stop hearing her praises of the yakisoba being served."

"I hope they don't run out, either," Nodoka added.

"They would, Nodoka-chan?" Yui asked. "That would be an injustice to Mugi-chan! You know something? We should, like, go on a crusade to give Mugi-chan her yakisoba. Bring her to a restaurant in the area that serves it. Something like that!"

"I think that's another of her dreams," Azusa said. "I would imagine it's one of her childhood dreams: to go to a restaurant that serves yakisoba." The others laughed as Azusa sighed and the song continued to play in the background.

"Onee-chan told me that you stayed inside a tent that night," Yui said, "and you even kissed onee-chan at the top of a hill."

Nodoka coughed and adjusted her framed with a glint. "Double unbelievable. You actually did that?"

Azusa pouted. "Yes...we kissed...and did other things."

Yui gasped. "Eh? You guys did that?" Azusa slowly nodded. This was unacceptable to her. "Nodoka-chan, can you move for a bit?"

"What are you going to do, Yui?"

Her eyes were sparkled, focused. "Just move."

"Uh oh...she might be jealous," Nodoka said to herself as she elected to read a book. She already finished her plate.

"Yui? What are you doing?" asked an alarmed Azusa. She saw Yui on top of her, their legs entangled suggestively.

"Azunyan...my Azunyan can't be this cute!" Yui moaned as her lips met Azusa's. She was surprised that Ui told her everything and she chose to make this move like she did at school.

"Who...who said I was yours?" Azusa thought as she quickly surrendered to Yui's advances.

"Azunyan," Yui whispered, caressing her soft, tanned face, "if you're going to have sex with my sister, at least let me be in it so that it can be a threesome."

"Th...threesome?" Azusa mewed weakly as Yui bit her neck and her hands danced between her legs. "Wait...this quickly?"

"I mean, if Onee-chan isn't going to give you up to anyone, I will be your only exception...A-zu-nyan."

Azusa's spiraling eyes were beginning to well with tears. Any more resistance was quickly brushed aside with a brush of the tongue. Immediately, as her eyes began to close amidst suppressed moans, Azusa raised her legs and wrapped them and her arms around Yui as the kissing and hugging intensified with each passing second.

Nodoka immediately whipped out her camera to take a few photos of the moment. "So Yui is in love with Azusa too, just like her sister," Nodoka said. "I don't know whether to feel happy, sad, or grossed out. No, wait, scratch grossed out. I'm happy for her. Really, I am." She looked at her bottom, which started to dampen profusely. The former was validated.

Ten minutes later, Yui finished her aggressive declaration of love for her tanned friend, whose hair was slightly disheveled and her twin tails undone. "You seem to be in a lot of training camps," Nodoka said as a pouting Azusa fixed them back into place. "I'm still beginning to wonder."

"Well, it's because I'm a member of the Light Music Club, and you have the Student Council to deal with. Doesn't the council have their own retreats?"

"We didn't have any on the agenda unfortunately. So this, in a way, is the only retreat for me."

"Poor Nodoka..."

"You don't have to pity me. That's just the way it is."

"Bruce Hornsby?"

"Yeah, that too."

"What are you guys talking about?" Yui asked, having thrown away the consumed plates.

"Training camps and retreats," Nodoka replied. That was the issue at hand. Tsumugi was proud to say that she had a summer villa, which at this point was being occupied by some other wealthy tenant. And then there was Sawako, who had her Death Devil connections to take Nodoka to the promised land.

"I have to clarify something," Azusa said to Nodoka, a little agitated. "We don't have a lot of club members, so there are extra funds that we use for club-related expenses."

"I see. It's too bad that we don't get to go to those events because we have to be fiscally diligent as members of the student council." In reality, she went to the event at no cost from the club advisor, Miss Sawako. That was something that she couldn't tell Nodoka. "So did you go to the event for free?"

Azusa blinked. How did she know? "Wh...why do you ask?"

"Just wanted to. I mean, if you're offended, forget I said anything."

"We did."

Nodoka paused as Yui's jaw dropped wide open in disbelief. "Your advisor must be very nice."

"Mmm-hmmmm."

"I will note that the next time I ask her," she said, adjusting her frames.

"Azunyan..." Yui said, stunned. "Well, I'm going to be in the club next year, so I hope to be at the Summer Fest next summer!"

"IF Miss Sawako has the tickets," Azusa reminded, pointing at a pouting Yui playfully.

"I do like Mio's bass playing," Nodoka said. "Good vibrations."

"Did you want to join too?"

"No, I was just hinting at it. I'm already in the student council so I can't do anything about that."

"At least you gave it some thought," Azusa giggled.

"And Ui-sempai can sing, too," Nodoka said.

"Onee-chan is the best when it comes to singing," Yui added. "There is no one I know who could do enka like onee-chan!"

"Enka?" they both asked her, bewildered.

"Fu-wa fu-wa ti~~~~~me..." Yui sang. "You have to spin your fist while doing that."

Azusa put a palm to her forehead. "Yui, you are impossible."

"Impossible is nothing."

"An adidas reference?"

"Correct. 100 points for Azunyan!"

"I also have to admit Ui-sempai is really good at the guitar. I'm surprised." That was an honest confession. Ui was the epitome of perfection. There was no denying that fact. Ui Hirasawa was THAT good.

"Onee-chan is onee-chan. You shouldn't be surprised at how awesome onee-chan is," Yui argued, fists pumped.

Nodoka agreed, nodding as a beach ball sauntered its way across the pool. "That's Yui's sister for you."

"It's bloody ridiculous. She remembers technical terms, reads scores, even composes them when we practice...she does it all," Azusa said. "And she can balance that with doing her work with the others at the school. Ui-sempai is not human. She is NOT human."

"Okay, now you're giving onee-chan a little too much praise," Yui said, waving it off with a hand behind her head, laughing hesitantly.

"Ui-sempai is just a great person, that's all," Nodoka said. "A musician and a scholar, and she wears both hats so well."

Yui, with a clenched fist, looked to the sky, tears of joy across her face. "Onee-chan...keep fighting!" she whispered through her sobs of happiness.

* * *

Nodoka gave her arms and her conscience a stretch after taking the train back. The afternoon gave way to the call of the evening. "You know, I would love to back there one more time before summer is over," Nodoka said to Azusa and Yui as they left the station. "I feel like I'm ready to do some work for the Council again, and we still have a few more weeks of summer to go."

"We can go back next time, Nodoka-chan," Yui said.

"Hmmm. I'll think about it, Yui."

"It's not fun when you say no," she replied, frowning.

"I didn't say 'no,' I just wanted to give myself time to think."

A flower popped out of her forehead. "Really?"

"Mmm-hmmm."

Nodoka felt an incoming embrace that almost sent her glasses flying. "I love you, Nodoka-chan!"

"Right, right, I know." They were what the minions of Generation Z called "BFFs." Best Friends Forever.

"I would love to visit that water park again," Azusa said. "It felt awesome to go down that slide."

Yui beamed. "Wasn't it, Azunyan?"

"You went down that thing 10 times nonstop, Yui," Nodoka noted.

"I couldn't help it. It felt so good."

As fate would have it, the other members of the club were done doing some shopping. They had finished their work for the day. "There you are!" Ui said, flashing her characteristic smile. "Yui! Azunyan!"

"Ui-sempai?" Azusa asked. "I'm not dreaming, am I?" She pinched her cheek to verify her existence. "No way, this isn't a dream. It is you."

"Well speak of the Death Devil," Ritsu said.

"I didn't know they were here," Mio added.

Tsumugi couldn't believe it. "Yui-chan, Azusa-chan and Nodoka-chan! Hello!"

"Azunyan, come here my little kitten!" Ui said, glomping her. Yui looked on with a brave face, knowing she had been beaten again in terms of it all.

"Yep, this is no dream," Azusa said, closing her eyes and indulging in the scent of hair. "But it hurts...so good..."

"You can join in if you want, Yui."

"Uh oh!"

"Yaaay! Let's all glomp Azunyan!" Yui said, embracing both of them while singing a little Peaches and Herb. "Reunited, and it feels so good..."

"Are you guys on your way back from the library?" Nodoka asked the other three.

"Yep, and as a matter of fact, we decided to do something else," Mio replied. "We're heading off to the Summer Festival here to relax for a bit."

"Holy cow!" Yui said, her ears perking. "Will there be some corn on the cob."

"Yes, there will be corn on the cob, Yui!"

"Our prayers have been answered!" she said to the heavens. "Halle-friggin-lujah!"

"When Yui is happy, she is happy," Nodoka said to Ui, who was grinning.

"I know. I'm her older sister."

"The best onee-chan on the planet is heading to the summer festival! I can die happy now!" Yui said.

"All right, all right, no need to go Qwaser on us, Yui," Ritsu said with a yawner. "Ui, you know, your younger sister is a friggin handful."

"Isn't Yui-chan a delight, though, Ricchan?" Tsumugi said to her. "All bouncy and bubbly."

"I already have my hands full with Satoshi running around. Maybe I should consider myself lucky."

"Did you come back from your trip, Mugi-sempai?" Nodoka asked.

That she did. "Just came back earlier today, and my chauffeur drove me to the library. I met the others there. Now we're all here."

"I missed being with you, baby," Ui said, kissing Azusa again.

"Don't treat me like I'm your girlfriend just yet."

"But you are!"

"Onee-chan, you should save some of Azusa for me, too!" Yui exclaimed. "Don't be greedy!"

"So this is what it means to be in a love triangle," Azusa said, bemused.

Ui continued to sing as she cuddled Azusa like the kitten she was. "You'll be my baby, and we'll fly away, and I'll fly with you! I'll fly with you!"

"Ui's been listening to some trance music lately," Mio said. "It helps her study. It helps her win the war against not learning anything."

"It causes her to choke me a little bit more, too," Azusa added.

"Did you go to the pool today?" Ui asked her.

"Yes, I did, along with the two people behind me. Can you please let go of me? I don't want you to smell like chlorine, either."

"Yes, ma'am!" Ui let go. "Okay, then, it's off to the summer festival. You ready?"

"I...guess so, Ui-sempai." She beamed. "Let's do this."

"All right, everybody!" Yui exclaimed, jumping high into the air. "I get to go with onee-chan, Nodoka-chan, and all my favorite sempai! Ohhh man! This is gonna be epic!"

* * *

Everything was epic whenever Yui Hirasawa came to an event that made her happy. Everything was epic in Yui's eyes. That was her calling card. Whenever she was motivated to do something, she did it well, and when she was rewarded, it felt like that day was the best day of her life. There was nobody the Hirasawa family and their friends knew that could make things lively—albeit in the most unorthodox of fashion—like Yui. And accepting the fact that she would be succeeding her older sister as a member of the Light Music Club was something she couldn't pass up. After she graduated, Yui would go on to be a solid guitarist in her own right, though she admitted that Ui was that much better.

A volunteer from the area fanned the flames while grilling ears of corn on the cob. Other stalls were selling snacks, while a house band was playing some surf music in the background. The Ventures. "Walk—Don't Run." A simple Chet Atkins classic turned novelty staple.

"Hey big guy, one more right here!" Ritsu hollered at the griller.

"You got it," he said with a deep voice, handing an ear fresh off the fire.

"Oooh, this one's hot!"

"So you came back from your trip, Mugi-sempai?" Azusa asked Tsumugi. "How was Finland?"

"Pretty good," she replied, embarrassed to admit the reason. "It's great to meet my friends in Helsinki again. I actually came back a little early for this summer festival. Ui-chan recommended me to come down here early for this thing.

"Oh."

"I didn't get a lot of sleep for this, so I'm essentially going through a bit of jet lag right now."

"If you had some business to take care of and family to meet, you should have politely said, 'No' and did whatever, you know? You shouldn't have to be rushed. It IS summer."

"She told me that the best yakisoba on the planet was here at this Summer Festival, and I couldn't refuse. I really want to eat the yakisoba this time."

Azusa's eyes peered suspiciously at Ui, watching Ritsu and Yui chow down on the corn while quietly snacking on her cob. "Damn that Ui-sempai...that's overselling things a bit," she thought to herself.

"Hey Mugi-sempai, we have some for you!" Mio said down by the yakisoba stall, holding a heaping plate.

"Splendid! I'll be back in a bit!" Mugi said to Azusa.

"See you later, Mugi-sempai," Azusa said, smiling. "Go ahead and enjoy your dinner."

"Hey Azunyan," Ui said, walking over to her, "did you want some grilled corn as well?" She offered another ear that was piping hot. "Yui, wanna show her how it's done?"

Yui saluted, holding her cob in one hand while saluting with the other. "Yes I will, onee-chan! This is how you do it." As if she were a typewriter, she proceeded down every kernel vertically with speed and precision.

"What are you, a friggin' mouse?" Ritsu said, karate-chopping Yui lightly, who swallowed the just-nibbled batch whole.

"Hey Ricchan, it was MY idea," Ui said, looking cross as ever. "So YOU should be chopping ME."

"Can't. You're too perfect." Immediately, she changed her mind. "Fine," she growled. "Here it comes."

Down it came. "Aaaaah!" Ui moaned, clearly stimulated by the Ricchan Chop.

Azusa placed a palm on her forehead. She was not impressed at all. "I'll be fine eating it my way, thank you very much." Ui handed the cob over to Azusa, who elected to do it horizontally. "This is good, but it's a bit burned. I'd rather have mine's steamed."

"But the burned part's what makes it good, Azunyan," Yui said as Azusa continued to finish the rest of the cob. "It's crispy on the outside, hot and warm on the inside. This is what makes the summer festival great!"

"There go those two again," Nodoka said to Ui. "That was a pretty crispy one you gave them, too."

"Just for her, Nodoka-chan, just for her," she replied. "I'm impressed she's able to finish it."

"Me too. Me too."

On stage was a band from Hawaii, visiting the summer festival as part of a special tour of Asia. "Ooh, you were so wrong," the lead singers sang, "and now your singing your remorseful song, song, and you wish you didn't move on, oh but honey your mistakes they can't be undone, undone..."

"All right fellas," Ritsu said to the others, "a change of plans! we're gonna have some shaved ice on the way!"

"I want watermelon-flavored!" Yui exclaimed enthusiastically. "Watermelon!"

"They don't have that flavor!" Mio shouted back.

"Whatever, I want watermelon anyway!"

"I'll take all the flavors they have," Ui said.

"Oooh, she wants to taste the rainbow," Ritsu said to Mio. "Owww!" The drummer had the headbump coming.

"That's Skittles, you idiot!"

"I wasn't referring to Skittles, though..."

"Strawberry for me," Nodoka said.

"Changed my mind," Ui said. "I'll go pink here and get strawberry instead."

Ritsu was stunned. "But I thought you wanted to taste the rainbow-OW!" Another headbump from Mio.

"One more instance of that Skittles reference from you, Ritsu, and I'm kicking your ass into the river below!"

Ricchanski pleaded her innocence-ski. "I told you, I wasn't talking about Skittles!" In spite of the headbumps, she could change her voice at the drop of a hat. "Anyway, I will take green tea flavored."

"That's courage right there," Yui said with a grin.

"Correction, grasshopper. Guts, Yui. Guts."

"Isn't that the same thing?" Ui asked, scratching her head in her own state of confusion.

"Katsu?" Yui asked, imitating Ui's state of confusion.

Ritsu seemed to reach her limit. "Gaaah, you people are annoying! Stop it with your garbage! Dammit!"

"Melon for me," Azusa said.

"Is there a flavor called Blue Hawaii?" Mugi asked, having finished her plate in due course.

"Yes, there is," Ui said. Also known as "Tropical Punch."

"Purple Argentina for me, then," Yui replied.

"That flavor doesn't exist, either!" Mio said.

"You don't exist in my mind, either; I feel like I'm talking to a ghost. Look," Yui said, pointing. "the flavor exists, Mio-chan. BAAAAAAAM!" Purple Argentina was essentially grape.

Mio rolled her eyes, admitting that she got served. "Oh, forget it. Order what you fucking want!" Mio and Ritsu were still feeling the after-effects of going through their academic ventures.

Azusa changed her mind. "I think I see strawberry milk. I'll go for that."

"Great guitaring minds think alike," Ui said, high-fiving Azusa.

"We're not THAT great, Ui-sempai."

"But we're getting there."

* * *

At last the crew sat down to savor their ice. Mio chose to go with lime. Three pinks, one purple, one dark green, one light green and one blue.

"Hey Azunyan," Yui said to her, "take a look." Her tongue was all purple from the coloring. Azusa just had to laugh.

"S...Stop it!" Mio said, slightly intimidated.

Ritsu, anticipating an opening, plotted her next move.

"This is some pretty good ice," Ui said to Nodoka.

"It's not very often I go to something like this," she replied. "And yeah, the shaved ice here is quite good."

"You have it too, Mio-chan," Yui argued back.

"I...I do?"

"Petty much. You have a mirror?"

Mio broke it out and took a look. She was stunned and almost dropped her shaved ice. "Geh!"

"Yui!" Ui said.

"What is it, onee-chan?"

She already finished her ice and pointed to the stall next to them. "We can try some goldfish-catching over there!"

"That's our onee-chan, knowing what to find," Yui said.

"Correction: YOUR onee-chan," Ritsu said, flashing her dark-green tongue at Mio, who shrunk a little and proceeded to quickly down her shaved ice without regards to the ensuing brain freeze.

"To us, she's just Ui-chan," Tsumugi said.

"Or Ui-sempai," Nodoka added.

"Or Ui," said Mio.

"Well scripted, the three of you," Ui said, clapping her hands. "I'm impressed." They all laughed.

"We should put the fish in Ton-chan's tank!" Yui said to Mio.

"I was thinking that too, Yui."

"I don't think that would be a good idea because that might be mistaken as food for him," Tsumugi countered.

"Well, duh, he IS gonna eat him, that's how he is," Ritsu said. "He'll go something like chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp! You know, he may be the hungriest turtle we'll ever have."

"And the only turtle, too," Ui added.

"Cut the crap, with you!" Mio was traumatized at the inevitable possibility of Ton-chan eating the poor fishies. The thought of anyone mentioning animals eating other animals was something that freaked Mio out. At the same time, Nodoka and Azusa were laughing at the thought.

"But Ton-chan, I think, is a small turtle, so I don't think he'll be able to stomach these in one sitting," Ui added. "So it should be fine, right?"

"That's what she said," Ritsu added.

Azusa looked on, looking at the seniors with a sense of a happiness and a knowledge that at some point, their time together would end. These members—the members of the light music club—were her soul sisters.

_These were the ones that would stand up for her._

_These were the ones who would support her apart from her family._

_These were the ones united by the same cause._

_These were the ones united by the same values and objectives, and the same love for their unique brand and style of rock and roll._

_These were the ones._

_Though they would always be separated by class year, they were united eternally. These were the same soul sisters that would see her take the ascendancy come the following April._

_These were the ones who made her a shining star, and these were the ones who would watch in the shadows her lead a new group, and usher in the future of the organization together with Ui's younger sister, who committed herself to the future of the club earlier in the day._

_These were the ones. These were her soul sisters: the Light Music Club._

"All right, we're bringing them to the tank!" Ui said.

"Amen!" Ritsu and Mugi said.

Mio had her reservations, but it was too little, too late. "wait a minute, I don't think is a good idea..."

But before they could consider the thought, the fireworks began to burst.

"Holy cow, here come the fireworks!" Yui said, pointing to the heavens.

"There they are," Ui added.

"For real?" Ritsu exclaimed. "God dammit, why the hell didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

"It's a summer festival, Ricchan. You know the fireworks are coming."

"Oh. I knew that."

"That's because I told you."

"Right, right."

"You ready to watch some fireworks, Azunyan?" Ui asked, offering Azusa her hand.

"Yeah!"

"Let's go!" Ritsu said, captive as always.

She grabbed her hand, and off they went.

Back was the house band, performing in the background, over the speakers, a rendition of a certain Train anthem. As Azusa watched it all go in slow motion, she wondered if she was dreaming again, or if the dream had become real.

* * *

_Hey Hey Hey_

_Your lipstick stains_

_On the front lobe of my left side brains_

_I knew I wouldn't forget you_

_And so I went and let you blow my mind_

_Your sweet moonbeam_

_The smell of you in every single dream I dream_

_I knew when we collided you're the one I have decided_

_Who's one of my kind_

_Hey soul sister, hey there mister, mister_

_On the radio, stereo_

_The way you move ain't fair you know_

_Hey soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight_

_Hey Hey Hey_

_Just in time, I'm so glad you have a one track mind like me_

_You gave my life direction_

_A game show love connection, we can't deny_

_I'm so obsessed_

_My heart is bound to beat right out my untrimmed chest_

_I believe in you, like a virgin, you're Madonna_

_And I'm always gonna wanna blow your mind_

_Hey soul sister, hey there mister, mister_

_On the radio, stereo_

_Hey soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight_

_Well you can cut a rug_

_Watching you is the only drug I need_

_So gangster, I'm so thug_

_You're the only one I'm dreaming of_

_You see I can be myself now finally_

_In fact there's nothing I can't be_

_I want the world to see you'll be with me_

_Hey soul sister, hey there mister, mister_

_On the radio, stereo_

_Hey soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight_

_Hey soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight_

_Hey Hey Hey (tonight)_

_Hey Hey Hey (tonight)..._

* * *

Azusa chose to watch the fireworks from the back of the group. Nodoka elected to take some photos for the council, perhaps to add to their archives later in the year.

"Hey Azunyan, where did they go?" Yui said, stuck in the middle of the fray.

"I lost them too," she said.

"I hope they'll be all right."

"I'm not even going to bother with going to the front," Nodoka said, taking some snaps. "I'm staying right here." Ten minutes later, the fireworks ended. "I think we should go home."

"We should, Nodoka-chan," Yui said.

Nodoka rubbed her camera as if to congratulate it on a job well snapped. "120 photos, no blue. Boy, the Council will have fun making postcards out of this."

"They sure will!"

The three of them laughed as a lone frog that was laying by the stream jumped in the water for its evening swim.

And so Azusa, Yui and Nodoka took their time walking back. "Hey Nodoka," Azusa asked her, "do you think you can respectfully quit the student council to join the light music club? I know you want to be a part of the council next year, but we need members, and if no one joins, this club is dead, and I don't want that."

"Hmmm...I've always weighed that possibility because I've been hanging around all of you," Nodoka replied.

"I'm sure they will understand the reasons, and it won't be as stressful as working with the council. They can always find somebody else to take your place."

"But it's been part of my ambition to be a member of student government and everybody I know has been telling me that I'm doing a really good job. They're even placing me as a favorite to win the student council presidency next year."

"But when we have three members committing themselves, all we need is a fourth, probably some freshman walking in like Ui-sempai did a while back, and our club can be chartered! It's not hard, Nodoka. We can fit you right in. Trust me."

Azusa was being very persuasive. She was desperate. If she could secure a commit from Nodoka Manabe and steal her from the student council, it would take a lot of pressure off of her to find new recruits. Having Nodoka on the team would also be beneficial, since her recruiting skills and persuasive savvy got more people involved in running the Council. Naturally, this would translate well in getting new members for the light music club. This was invaluable experience Azusa was trying to covet.

"All right, I'll go ahead and join you guys," Nodoka said.

"Yay!" Yui said, glomping Nodoka. "We will now have three members, and all we need is a fourth for next year! Thank you, Nodoka-chan."

"When we were at the pool, and I was talking with you guys under the umbrella, I felt that I wasn't getting these types of breaks as a member of the student council. The fact that Yui is going to be part of it probably made the decision a bit stronger. So when I head to the council meeting after the summer break, I will formally announce my resignation from the council to join you guys. I think I can be of use for you, Azusa." Nodoka would go on to be the next club vice-president.

"we're gonna need you to find some people who want to join, Nodoka. Yui, I know you might be a liability," Azusa said to her. "Please, take this whole thing seriously and get the work done. We have some songs to write, practices to attend, concerts to play, and I don't know if Mugi-sempai will be bringing in snacks anymore; it may not happen when next April begins. It will just be a practice, and I actually prefer it that way because we can get down to business without any distractions. But anyway, the point I'm making is this: take your role as a member of the club SERIOUSLY, Yui."

"Yes, President-elect Azunyan!" Yui said, saluting.

"At ease, you don't need to give me that distinction. Ui can teach you how to play this better than I can, so you have her to rely on in terms of technique and fundamentals. You have a strong responsibility, Yui Hirasawa. Most importantly, have fun while being a member. Next year will be your only year, Nodoka's only year, and my last year. So let's pave the way for the new members and do this right."

"You're starting to talk like you're the current president already," Nodoka noticed.

"Actually, the current president, Ritsu-sempai, would not even think of saying this, and if she did, she wouldn't even mean it."

"I think you might be a better president than her."

"But I don't know that yet. Time will only tell if you're right to be honest."

Nodoka nodded. She had a point as the three of them made their way home.

"I guess today was really fun," Azusa said to herself, scrubbing away the chlorine from her venture at the pool. She watched a bubble pop into her face. "But is it by chance...or is it another dream?" She continued to wash herself in the bath, still trying to separate her visions from what was really going on. The hot water stung her sunburnt skin. "This hurts! This isn't a dream."

Azusa's mind continued to wonder and wander as she immersed herself in the tub, a towel wrapping her hair. "I can't believe that I'll be all by myself soon," she said, continuing her melancholy monologue while looking at herself through a window's reflection. Her eyes saw the future leader of the club, the face of what would become.

Soon after, she turned away, covering her face in shame. "No, I cannot be depressed! Pull yourself together, Azusa! Pull yourself together!" She knew that the school festival was coming up shortly, and the concert had them as the headline act. There was no way Azusa should be in self-defeatist mode. Not now, not tomorrow, not next year. Azusa looked skyward, her confidence reaching a high. For now, it was time to get down to some business waiting for her and the light music club later on in the year.

"Azusa," Mrs. Nakano said, back from her work at the studio in the heart of the city, "I'm gonna eat all the watermelon."

"I'll be there in a bit!" she said through the door. "Save the rest for me!"

* * *

"I'm back, Yui," said Ui as she returned to the house. She heard some video game noises. A few shots, a few bangs, a few enemies going down. "Oh, you're up there already?"

"Hi, onee-chan," Yui hollered from upstairs in her room. "Did you guys go somewhere after the fireworks show?"

"The four of us went out to get some dessert, and Mugi paid for it!"

"Ehhhh, that's nice. All right."

"Is that so? Thanks!" Ui went to the table, which had a plate of food. "Whoops! Food from Granny de-tected!" The note did say, "From Grandma. Say thank you when you see her, Yui." She was about to devour the portions, when her phone rang. It was Azusa, again. "Hey, hey, hey, Azunyan. What's up, baby girl?"

"Don't 'baby girl' me! Did you receive the letter I gave you?"

"What's that? A letter?"

"No, a postcard!"

Oh, you mean the postcard that's on the table. That thing. Yeah, I got it."

"Good. Read it."

"Shaved eyes and tempura are a bad combination, don't eat them together...I don't understand what you're trying to say here because I just ate some tempura and I got no problems, really."

"You don't have any problems?"

"Nope, none."

The answer from Azusa was straight and simple as Ui continue to finish of the tempura. "Warrior."

* * *

**END CHAPTER 13**

**A/N:** Would you believe this, I completed this chapter (unedited) at exactly 10:00 p.m. PT on the dot on Nov. 23. That's timing.

Now I am at the halfway point of this story and this will be the only chapter that will have a name that is not an AC/DC song. THE ONLY ONE. That's how special this chapter is to me. It's a great one.

I haven't been seeing a lot of review/comments on the fic—in fact, I have only seen ONE REVIEW on ,, so if you are on FanFiction dot net or on deviantART, do yourself a favor and give me your thoughts on the story so far.

Once again, thank you for reading, and do look forward to the next chapter of Walk-ON! All Over Again.


	14. Walk All Over You

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 14:**

**Walk All Over You

* * *

**

Summer was beginning to wind down, and the seniors of Hokago Tea Time continued to brush up on the fundamentals. Algebra. History. English. Every facet of the curriculum that they were inundated with at Sakuragaoka High School, that beacon of knowledge that would direct all of its students to their destiny.

As for Mio Akiyama, the bassist of this esteemed quintet, it was back to the algebra...or was it calculus? Either way, it was one of those "need-to-know" scenarios. Sort of like reading an American football offensive playbook and remembering the bits and pieces, every facet of the system given by the head coach. That was the situation she was faced with up in her bedroom. Formations and play calls. In the form of equations. One and the same in terms of complexities under the hums of the cicadas.

"All right, let's take a look here," she said, jotting down some letters and numbers on paper. "This number is squared, so this means X should be..." Mio was about to figure it out—four squared, 16, X is four, oh the simplicities—when her white mobile rang.

Mio walked over to get it. "Yo, what's up?"

It was her dearest ladyfriend, drummer Ritsu Tainaka, "Hey there sweetums. Mio, where you at?"

She frowned. "At home. Why?"

"Well, it's cause I'm at the station, and I wanna head out and do something, cause you know I ain't gonna be stuck here writing this and that, something you can do in your sleep. Wanna head out?"

Mio scowled. "I don't know. The summer study session starts tomorrow, and that's why I'm prepping for it."

"Awwww. You can do that later, eh?"

"And on top of that, going out will make me all tired and sleepy. I am not going to take a risk as big as that, Ritsu, so I'm afraid I will have to pass."

This is where Ritsu threw up the incentive. "The hell? What's more to you: your work in class, or me?"

"Look, love, we all have to make sacrifices every now and then. You can go ahead and do your thing, but I will be happy doing my thing. We can go out later after we graduate and do whatever the hell we want, but now is not the time, all right? See you later, lazybones." She hung up before retiring to her table to do more algebra research. "I wonder if that little witch ever studies one bit, outside of me assisting her with a branding iron. Ugh."

The phone rang again. "Oh hell, what is it now?" Mio took it. "Hello?"

Ritsu had some more kinky stuff on the horizon, as expected. "Hey sugar bunny, what color are those delectable panties of yours today, ehhhhh?" They were pink.

Mio growled like a lion thirsting for payback. "Arrrrrrrgh! As if that is any part of your fucking business! Now shut the fuck up, do what you want and leave me alone, you bitch!"

Mercy sakes. Ritsu had that one coming. "Okay, now that that's out of the way, robble robble robble, yours truly looks for another diversion on this summer day." An audience of nothing. "Thank you, thank you, you are far too kind. Anyway, Ui's studying with Jun over the advanced stuff over laptops, donuts and coffee...and Azusa is doing her studying as well at her house."

Ritsu's eyes found someone familiar. "Mugi?" Tsumugi Kotobuki, decked in braids, had spent four hours prepping for the session before calling it quits and taking the train back to town to look at some souvenirs. Fancy her being within eyeshot, she thought. "I wonder where our keyboarding partner-in-crime is heading off to. Looks like I'll surprise her here."

Ritsu followed her down, but not that far. She hid behind a post as Tsumugi walked down the street at a leisurely pace in her peach gown. "Huh?"

Unfortunately, Ritsu mistook an elderly resident in a similarly-dressed outfit for Mugi, allowing her to turn the tables in predictable fashion. "Shaaaaa!"

Ritsu shrieked. "Iyaaaaa! Dammit! I've been had!"

Tsumugi pumped her fist in celebration. "Fancy you being here, Ricchan. I saw you, so I wanted to surprise you."

"Like hell you wanted to! I was going to do the same thing, you bourgeois Finnish lady, you! Whatever, you got me. Damn these old ladies popping up everywhere I go."

"We'll be turning old many years from now."

"No, no, I don't want to think about that. Let's enjoy our youth while we still have it. Anyway..."

"I think it's rare to run into each outside of class. What do you think?"

"Nonononono, everybody knows somebody here in Tokyo. It happens more often than you think. Don't kid yourself. Anyway, as I was about to say, where are you off to?"

"Hmmm, the summer study session is going to begin tomorrow, so I wanted to do a shopping run before we go through this whole ordeal."

"I see."

"Hmmm?" Tsumugi wanted to know what was on her friend's mind.

"I wanted to ask you if you had some free time to head out with me and do some gaming. You're shopping, I'm gaming, and I don't want to do this type of stuff alone. How about it?" Tsumugi's eyes glowed. "Something the matter, sunshine?"

"No, no, no," she said. She took a deep breath before belting out some English she learned from her session at the combine. _"¡Un momento, por favor!"_

"Huh? Why in Spanish?"

_"¡Es divertida, mi amiga!"_

"Ay carumba, this is no time for The Most Interesting Man in the World. And I'm too young to drink Dos Equis."

"Stay thirsty, my friend."

"Friends, with an S."

"But there are only two of us in this conversation."

"Easy for you to say."

Mugi flipped open her phone to make a call. "Hello, this is Tsumugi."

She received a voice on the other line. "Yeah!"

"Can we reschedule today's shopping trip to another date?"

"No problem."

"Thanks!"

"All right."

Tsumugi hung up before returning to Ritsu, her blue eyes shining like the sea. "I'm free as a bird to fly with you! Let's do this!"

"I love your enthusiasm," Ritsu said, clearly startled but impressed at her friend leaping at the opportunity that awaited her.

* * *

As Jun was busy working on some random academic tidbits on her laptop while snacking on another All-Star pack, Ui was on her laptop writing another fanfic. "So the story goes," she said, typing as she went along, "Mugi's eyebrows are pickled radishes, and are very good." Her fingers did the walking and the talking, the talking and the walking, "Hey Mugi-chan, give me a pickle, Yui said with glee, creeping closer to her face. Her left eyebrow turned into one of those crisp, yellow creations, so crunchy and so refreshing. Yui placed in on her heaping pink rice bowl, eager to savor her snack. Ritsu then went over and grabbed the right. Don't hog them for yourself, Yui, she said. I want one too!"

"I like where this is going," Jun said, sipping a latte before returning to work. Yui was with Azusa Nakano, presumably bumming around. Or maybe they were watching something on the tube. Speculations, speculations.

"Both Yui and Ritsu dug right in. Delicious!, they said. Tsumugi then said her disclaimer. When I lose both eyebrows at the same time, I turn into gel, she said. Gel? Unless you replace the pickles, she said in a low hum. Yui was shocked. She needed to do something. Mugi-chan! Hey Yui, go get some pickles quickly! Ritsu exclaimed, alarmed as ever. But we don't have any pickles! Have mercy, Miss Percy, this was going to be a disaster waiting to happen. Yui tried to inflate her back as Ritsu pulled out a couple of items. Guess this calls for drastic measures, and finding whether we can find, she said. But it was too late. Just before they were about to get some protractors, she melted, and started to rush towards Yui and Ritsu. As they were about to head for the door, they were swamped by Tsugoogi, who ripped their clothes apart. Now they were naked to the core. It's no use, Ritsu said. Yui agreed as much. I'm starting to feel horny! Ricchan! Mugi-chan!"

As she laughed, a generous splash of blood came off of Jun's nose. "Holy cow, you stained my friggin laptop, damn you!"

"Sorry."

"Anyway, aren't you going to go back to your studies. I mean, I know you're finished, but we really should go back to something other than writing fanfiction."

Click. Save, Exit. "Suppose so. How are you with your algebra?"

"I got tired of checking my drill equations, so I decided to just do some Wikipedia searching on the people behind all of these concepts."

"Well done, that Jun Suzuki," Ui said, heading to the kitchen.

"Anyway, do you have some cleaning solution or something?"

Ui returned with a spray bottle and a towel. "This should do it."

"Thanks."

As Jun gave her laptop a shine, Ui cracked open a history book while looking at the questions on her sheets provided by Miss Sawako before the break. "Be sure to put those away when you're done, or I'll go ahead and do it for you."

"Pretty please?" She was finished.

"All right."

Jun broke into song as she jotted down some notes, "Ui, Ui baby, won't you help me buy a pair of new shoes?"

"Hm? You wanted me to buy you some new shoes?"

"No, I was just making a parody of an oldies song."

She pointed at Jun. "'Sea Cruise' by Frankie Ford, right?"

"Yep. And guess what: it has your name on it! Decades before the fact, too!"

Ui blushed as she played it on her iTunes. "I've heard that some before. It does sound like it, doesn't it?"

Jun laughed as both of them returned to their studies. "Absolutely, Ui baby. Absolutely."

Ritsu and Tsumugi watched the last train go by at the station. "Where do you wanna go?" Ritsu asked.

"I'll leave it to you, Captain!" she replied with a smile.

"All righty then! By the way, I notice that you seem upbeat as ever."

"Well, you know that this is the first time that it's only between the two of us, right Ricchan?"

Ritsu scratched her head, admitting as much. "True, true, now that you bring that up." Her sly eyes told not lies. Mugi did indeed surmise. "That said, I believe I will take this time to take you places you," she said, pointing, "haven't been to, like the arcade."

"Ooooooh, an arcade." Tsumugi was fired up, pumping her fists with confidence.

"You don't wanna."

"No, I really want to!" She grabbed Ritsu hand, pleading like a girl dancing in the middle of her youth. "I really, really, really want to!" Ritsu smiled. "And it was really fun the last time we went!"

"I know, right?" she chuckled. "Okay, off we go, my dear!"

"Yay!" This was destined to be a straightforward deal.

At the arcade called "Game!", Tsumugi gawked at the different diversions surrounding her: from cranes, to racing games, to shoot-em-ups...every type of activity that put the fun in fun. "Amazing," she gasped. "I love this arcade."

"You know Mugi," Ritsu said in her latest episode of honesty, "you always seem to be impressed everywhere you go. Whether it's here, or there, or anywhere. I mean, it's bloody ridiculous!"

"Isn't this great though?" she said, full of glee and enthusiasm unbound.

"I go here every now and then, so it's not like it's that big of a deal. But that may be just me."

Mugi pointed to one of the games. "Oooh, oooh! Wh...What's this sparkly, chandelier-looking thing?"

"That? Ah, that is the coin game."

"Coin game?"

She pointed to another one, startling a couple of confused frequenters. "What about this one with the steering wheels?"

"A racing game, and you would be wise not to bother them, Mugi."

"Sorry." They nodded and went back to the virtual road.

Another venue captivated her. "Oooh, there's even a fishing pole here!"

Ritsu groaned. "That's a fishing game, Mugi." Tsumugi was just like a little kid, and Ritsu played the role of babysitter/older sister. Well, she did have a younger brother in Satoshi, but even he was not that full of spirit. Heck, at the arcade, Satoshi meant business, and Ritsu knew that.

It wasn't just leisure, as was the case of Mugi, who turned to Ritsu in an excited panic. "Wh...What should I do? I don't know where to start when everything looks so fun!"

"Well, just settle down, and pick any game you want. You don't have to treat it like a buffet and pile your plate up with the good stuff, you know." Ritsu looked around. "With that said, for starters..."

Tsumugi noticed an arm wrestling machine. "Oh, I'll try this one."

"An arm-wrestling machine. Nice choice."

"There are some very strong people in Finland, you know."

"Hmmmm. I suppose giving your arms a workout is not a bad thing. Let's give this a go." Ritsu gave it her best shot, but in the end, the machine arm prevailed.

"My turn." Not even close. Mugi was lucky she didn't break the machine, which testified to the Finn's awesome arm strength. "Hooyah! That was for you, Ricchan."

"Spoke the truth," Ritsu concluded, shrugging her shoulders. Actually, the mansion had its own weight room, and the countless judo classes and power lifting sessions paid off right there.

The two of them went to one of the crane machines. "I want this stuffed doll," Tsumugi said, her eyes fixated on a blue bear.

"You push this button right here," Ritsu replied, pointing to it.

"Okay...and, click!" A press, and Mugi got to work. The bear slipped out of the crane's hands.

"Close," she noted. "My turn." Ritsu was skilled at the mechanics of the crane. Like Mugi, it was a learning process, but days and days of practice (while sacrificing studying and quality time with Mio, who gave her headbumps left and right for it) allowed her to perfect the technique of attaining stuffed plushie after stuffed plushie. It was a technique she took pride it.

"That was amazing, Ricchan!" Mugi exclaimed, grabbing the bear.

"I try." The timing was close, but she was safe. If Ritsu held it for one second too long, she would have wanted to hide under a shell for the rest of the day. It wasn't perfect, and it wasn't pretty, but that was getting the job done. And that's what mattered.

* * *

Ritsu took a look at some photo layouts in one of the booths at Game!. "Okay, that should do it," she said to Mugi with a nod. "We can write on them now. Let's put this here, and ba-da-boom!"

"Cool," she replied, embracing the bear. "But what's this?" She was pointing to the oversized eyebrows.

Ritsu continued working with the booth's stylus on another photo. "And let's put this on here." A mustache for Mugi on one, sparking eyes on another which saw Ritsu reach out, wanting to touch someone. "Oh, Oscar!" she gasped.

"Is this the button?" Tsumugi asked, pointing to it.

"Yep."

"Okay. Pressing the button."

Ritsu shrieked. "Gah!" That wasn't one of her favorites that Tsumugi selected.

"You look good in it!"

"So now I am an old guy from the countryside, and a perverted one at that? Damn you, Mugi!" Tsumugi had to laugh. "If that's the case, I'll do this to you!"

"Oooh, a pig! How beautiful." An old farmer and his pig. Rural country life. Captured at Game!.

"You're still working on that fic, Ui?" Jun asked back at the Hirasawa house as Ui's eyes were fixated on the story at hand over slices of strawberry cake from the nearby bakery and donuts.

"Couldn't help it," she said sheepishly, sipping orange soda. "Hey Jun-chan, you heard of this thing called flash fiction?"

"Flash fiction? What's that?"

Ui frowned. Okay, have you hears of this thing called a vignette?"

"I think so in our literature class."

"Well, flash fiction is a vignette. And a vignette is flash fiction. It's shorter than a short story. So, here's the deal: I'm planning to post this little short story to a few sites and see what they think, and then it will be back to work." A few taps and clicks. "Now it's sent."

"Oh God. Man, I hope you took the time to give it a proper rating."

"Ah, I rated it for mature audiences only."

She was startled. "What? Mature?"

Ui leaned in closer with a sinister look in her eyes. "Wanna take a look at the finished product, my love?"

Jun took a big gulp. "O...okay..." As she read the story, her nose started to leak a little red. Ui immediately plugged her friend's nostrils, sparing her laptop of any stains. "Damn. That is so perverted, but so fucking awesome at the same time. How do you do it?"

Ui shrugged as Jun shook her head in disbelief. "I just do. Hey, can I get one of your donuts?"

Jun cleaned her nose and threw away the tissues. "Pick any one you like."

"I'll take the mocha-flavored one."

"That's a good choice. One of my favorites."

Ui took a big bite. "Mmmmm."

"And you know something? The guys at where I go to buy the All-Star Pack? They use real espresso in that one. Baked right in, made from scratch. It's unbelievable."

"Interesting. And the texture of this one is good, too. It's not bad."

"You know, Ui? You're gonna get a lot of hits for that fic. It has to be the dirtiest, nastiest, sexiest piece of writing I have seen from you in my life. Good God."

"You're flattering me too much, Jun-chan."

Her friend pouted. "But isn't that a good thing?"

"I didn't say it wasn't; I just like being humble, that's all."

"Ahhh." Jun took a fork and took the strawberry off of Ui's slice of cake.

"You like to eat that part of these types of slices first, huh?"

"That's the good part."

"If you were to do that to Yui, you would make her cry."

"Oh."

"I can deal with that better than she would, but to be honest, I was expecting you to take a piece of the cake, but not the strawberry."

"Sorry."

"No problem. It's a good thing I bought the entire cake, and it's sitting in the fridge."

"Well done, that Ui Hirasawa." Her friend gave a thumbs-up and a wink as the two of them laughed and resumed their studies.

* * *

"Hey Ricchan, I had a blast," a blushing Tsumugi said, holding the stuffed bear as they walked back to the station. They had conquered every game, with Ritsu and Mugi winning the same amount.

"I knew you would," she replied, hands behind her head. "Arcades do that to you, Mugi. I think it was all worth it, taking you there and stuff."

"Oh yeah. And this bear is so cute." In spite of its black, fearsome eyes and indifferent pout. "I think it was so much fun that I might die tomorrow after suffering from bouts of its awesomeness."

"You'll live, Mugi," Ritsu deadpanned, waving the possibility off. "You'll live, I promise you. Anyway, we've already spent a lot of cash, and that means we'll go on the cheap. You feel like going to the sweets shop out here, Mugi?"

Tsumugi stood still. "Sweets shop..." Ritsu turned around, wondering what was going through her friend's head. She found out soon enough. "Ricchan!"

"Huh?"

Tsumugi quick walked to her friend. "Aw shucks, can ah hug ye, mah sweetie pie?"

"Uh, okay? Ooof!" Tsumugi's sweet-scented embrace was a blend of pleasure and pain, but mostly pleasure. "But what kind of an accent was that supposed?" Kansai-ben, Ritsu. Kansai-ben. Somehow, the little drummer girl had forgotten that the two of them along with Ui, Jun and Mio went on a field trip to Kyoto earlier in the year with the senior class.

* * *

The sweets shop was decked with different types of confections and other edible curios, and was a hit with tourists visiting this part of the prefecture.

"So this is what a sweets shop looks like," Tsumugi said to Ritsu, captivated by the sight.

"Yep. Go ahead, pick anything you like. Everything here costs 20-30 yen a pop."

"For real? So this one, too?" Mugi picked up a small, thimble-shaped chocolate wrapped in foil.

"Yep, that too."

"Oooh. And these skewered ones?" She showed Ritsu a jar of sweets on sticks.

"Yep."

She held up another package. "And these ones that are fried?" The sweet variety of umaibo.

"Of course."

She went to another set of packages in the back. "And this huge cracker?" It was dipped in frosted sugar and bagged.

"Oh yeah."

Tsumugi quickly walked to Ritsu, excited as ever. "Amazing! Is this what you folks call price slashing?"

"No, it's been priced that way for years, Mugi," said Ritsu, who knew that this was clearly her friend's first time at the sweets shop. Tsumugi proceeded to buy up a storm.

The two of them sat next to another game machine to do some snacking. "Now Mugi," Ritsu explained, "There are special techniques for eating cheap sweets. You open a bar-shaped package like this." She pounded the bar on her right thigh, causing the chocolate-covered wafer roll to pop out of its red package.

Mugi, naturally, was captivated. This was all Greek to her. "Wow!"

As they both indulged in their budget-sized decadence, Ritsu pulled out a green tube of powdered candy as Mugi looked at a pink piece of taffy on sticks she purchased from her stash. "Now with this," she said, twirling it around, "you drink it from this end," which was the fat end. There were two ends of the package, narrow and fat. Ritsu demonstrated the technique by opening the packet with her teeth.

"Oh."

"See, you drink it slower from this end because it allows you to enjoy it a bit longer."

"I see. Cool!" Mugi was taking notes of all this in her head, and she would remember them for her next visit. And on her next visit to Finland, there was sure to be some more anecdotes to share with her relatives. She looked at her taffy. "So with this..." She stretched it. "Oh dear, what do I do?"

"Oh with that," she said in another demonstration, "you smash them together, swirl them around, and then you eat it!"

"Ohhhh!"

"Got it?"

"Mmm-hmmm." Simple enough.

"You're working on a fanfic while you're supposed to be studying?" Azusa asked on her mobile to Ui. "Do you really have that much free time of your hands?"

"I suppose so. And you have to read it. It's on sites like and others, and I am already getting some hits. Jun-chan's already read it and she just got a couple of nosebleed."

"Ugh. Is it that dirty?"

"Maaaaaaaybe?"

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Anyway, how are you and Yui doing?"

"We're just chatting about some J-Pop idols over bars of blue ice cream and watching TV."

"Mmmmm, that's my Azunyan, keeping busy. So," she said rather slyly, "who's your favorite?"

"Hmmmm, I don't know. Both of us talked about a lot of cool-looking guys and I still think that singer from SOPHIA is sexy."

"Please. There are so many others out there that are cool and are emerging. He is old news, Azunyan. Trust me."

She pouted. "But Yui is turned on by Gackt."

"Huh?" An anger vein throbbed on Ui's left fist. "Gackt? Of all people? When Yui gets back, I will give her a talking to!"

Azusa looked at Yui, slumping over while eating her ice cream bar, with a sympathetic face before returning to Ui over the phone.

"Is your sister that much into not-so-fresh rock stars?" Jun asked, writing while drinking some more orange juice.

"Sometimes I have to steer her in the right direction."

"But it's her choice to like washouts like Gackt and Hyde, Ui. You know that."

"But it's insulting to realize that my sister has a bad taste for men!"

Azusa was hearing it on the phone. "They're not washouts, onee-chan!" Yui cried, clearly hearing the frustrations from her sister. "They still turn women like me on! Have a heart, onee-chan, please!"

"Yui," Ui said over the phone, "if you are hearing this, I'm going to give you a crash course in finding the right guys when you come back. I need to rid you of that nasty habit of getting stimulated by washouts like Gackt. Ugh."

"Onee-chan," Yui groaned. Yep, she was going to hear it.

"And the beat goes on," Jun said, nibbling on the last donut in the All-Star Pack.

As afternoon crept in, Tsumugi and Ritsu wrapped up the trip at Max Burger. "Man, that was so much fun," Tsumugi said.

"I'm sure it was."

"You seem to know a lot of places that I don't even know about."

"Well, I've been around the block for nearly a couple of decades, so yeah. But you have an edge on me in terms of traveling to places like Finland."

"Right, right." She took a look at her bear. "I won this for 500 yen, and ate so much for just 100. You are the master of gaming on a shoestring, and I salute you!"

"I try. But you know something? In today's world, living expenses are going on the up and up for working-class people like me. I mean, you're not in my shoes, but I am telling you, it is tough out here," Ritsu said, sipping on her Coke.

"Really?"

"Better believe it. Example: last month, me and Mio were looking to buy some new equipment for my drums and when I was opening up my wallet, I found out I was short of a few thousand. So I said to her, 'I'm sorry Mio, but can you spot me?' And she was like, 'Again? God dammit, how much do you need?' My eyes perked up, sparkling, and I said, 'you will? Then, can I also buy these sticks, this score, and this CD that was just released yesterday?' And then she gave me a headbump the size of a golf ball. God, Mio was, like, so fucking heartless that day; I couldn't believe it."

"But isn't that your fault for being so selfish?" Tsumugi asked.

"Oh, shut up, cheerful!"

"But about a headbump...I have a favor to ask you."

She was lazy with her sips. "Eh? What is it? I will warn you: I don't have any money on me, sunshine."

"I know." Ritsu giggled, and Tsumugi flailed. "But that wasn't what I meant!"

"Oh?"

She took a deep breath. "I've desired this for a long time."

"Desired? What have you desired?"

"Well...I want you to give me a headbump!"

Ritsu was surprised. "Huh?" Did Mugi want a slice of humble pie that bad? Apparently so. "It just hurts. It's nothing special."

"Doesn't matter, I want it!"

She sighed "All right. Just a light one. And don't tell me there are SPs around."

"None, captain, none!"

"Here comes. Ready?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Up it went...nothing. It was too light. She couldn't do it.

"Dammit, I can't do it."

"Why not?"

Now it was Ritsu taking the piece of humble pie. "This isn't something you can just ask people to do. It's all about going with the flow."

"Going with the flow?"

"Exactly. You have to have annoyed them in some way. You haven't done so with me, so I can't do it to you. The reason why I got my comeuppance is because I pissed Mio off. You haven't done the same with me, so I can't do it."

"Ohhhh." The nuances of anger management.

"If you start to act like a complete idiot and I see it, then it will come. But not right now, cause we chill. You get what I'm saying?"

"Right!"

* * *

"I guess you do have a point regarding idols," Yui said the next day, borrowing Ui's laptop to browse through random tidbits of news as her older sister prepped herself up for the task at hand

"Now have you learned your lesson?" asked Ui, placing a few books in her bag before slinging it across her shoulder. She was wearing a T-shirt, jeans, a vest and a hat. "Hmmm?"

"Arashi. I will remember the name."

"And you will remember it well," Ui added. "They are Kohaku Uta Gassen material. And they are one of my favorites. A-ha."

"That's my onee-chan, always keeping in touch with the best in the business."

She nodded as she put on a set of glasses. "I want to see how this will look."

"Wow," Yui said, turning to her. "You definitely look like onee-chan. Even more like onee-chan! Amazing!"

"You think so? I just wanted to try it out. I have 20/20 vision, but these glasses will give me 20/10 vision. It's even sharper."

"Ehhhhh, that's amazing." It was another facet of Ui Hirasawa that added to her charms: the power to try on new styles while maintaining the form and poise that defined her for so long.

-OOO-

A library located in the heart of the city was used by high school seniors from across the neighboring towns for their study sessions. It was the job of each student government to book the study rooms needed for the sessions because there was a long list of schools that reserved the space in advance. As president, Jun was able to get the council to quickly take advantage of the window provided to reserve a day where the senior class could use the building for their summer study session. As it turned out, they were in luck because the school that reserved it that day cancelled at the last moment, allowing Sakuragaoka's students to fill in the space. This was a school that believed in taking advantage of the opportunities it got. The harder they work, the luckier they got. And that was the truth.

Mio was among the first to arrive at the building, clutching her book bag while waiting for the others still to come. Ui looked at her watch as she walked towards the entrance. 10 minutes to spare. Right on schedule, without a moment's notice. Making good time, and how. She was feeling nervous, worried if they would ever make it on time. Especially Ritsu. She knew how it was regarding her, and so she hoped and prayed that she just got her you-know-what over to where she was. Even worse...she came in her school uniform, which was optional, but unnecessary.

"Hey, I see you in your uniform," Ui said, the first to meet up with her. "I didn't know we could wear this to our sessions."

"Actually, we can wear whatever we want. But we have to wear something."

"Three fig leaves?"

"Way too scanty," Mio replied, waving it off with a disgusted look on her face. "But I would think wearing your uniform is the norm out here."

Ui rolled her eyes. "Well I'm here, and I'm not heading back to the house; we got some studying to do." She noticed Ritsu in her orange shirt with yellow accents walking over to the two of them. "There she is. Ricchan! Did you know there is a university in Kyoto with your name on it?" Ritsumeikan Daigaku.

"I know it well, and I am proud of it!" she replied in bubbly fashion. "Ui Hirasawa, early as ever, as expected."

Ui was flattered. "As expected? Come on, you know I was going to be ready! Just for the record: uniforms optional, right?"

"Believe so," Ritsu said, pondering the rules for the center for a b it. "Take a look." Casual, casual, casual. Of course, the Boys' Campus and a few other coed schools in the area were using the building that same day. Most of the rooms, though, were specifically for Sakuragaoka.

"Got it."

"But I must say," Ritsu said, "It is very rare to see people in their uniforms." Mio squeaked for a little bit as Ritsu got to work on her. "Oh my, what if you're the only one? They'll be saying, 'Hey, look you guys, she's the only one in her uniform.' Ohohooooh!"

Mio had heard enough. "Arrrggh! God dammit, it said there wasn't a fucking dress code, so who fucking cares?"

Tsumugi came in a specially-made red dress with hibiscus orchid on the left side of her hair. Smartly dressed. "Morning, everyone."

The others turned around in wonderment. "Why hello there, m'dear," Ui said. "By the way, this isn't the beach."

"I know. It took me a while to get dressed up."

"At least you made it time. That's what matters." Ui turned to the rest of the crew. "Well, we're all here; let's go!"

Tsumugi went in first. Ui and the others noticed that there was something purple in the back of her dress.

"You know something, Mio?" Ui asked her.

"Mmm?"

"The fact that she is able to wear something like that without getting hurt is a hallmark of a true ojou-sama."

"How do you know?"

"Research, Mio. Research."

Mio took a closer look. "That's not a clothespin. Mugi."

"Hmm?" Mugi meant to find out.

"You forgot to take the tag off your dress," Mio said, taking it off.

"Ooops," Ui added. "That's not the hallmark of an ojou-sama."

"And you shouldn't wear socks with this dress, either."

"Oh my," Tsumugi replied, found culpable by the one-woman fashion police in Mio Akiyama. As she and Yui went. Tsumugi gave a pout. Ritsu looked on, wondering if her good friend had a future as a fashion designer. At the same time, something else was on her head. "Could Mugi be trying to..." She was trying to atone for what happened yesterday by annoying the heck out of Mio by being dressed out of place. Turns out, she wasn't doing a very good job at it. As Tsumugi learned, Mio's rage was for one person, and one person only: Ritsu.

* * *

They headed up the elevator to the eighth floor. "Me and Yui were thumbing through news stories on JPop stars and I had to steer her away from the older phenoms more fit for the late 20's to early to mid 30's folks," Ui explained.

"Is that so?" Mio asked.

"Now she is into Arashi, and I dig that."

"Arashi...I've heard of that band before. It features that guy from Bambino!, right?"

"You know it."

Ritsu was still suspicious of Mugi's vain attempts to force Mio to give her the same headbumps she gave Ritsu. She was not her, and she knew that. She was too rich, too proper, and too affluent to be the jester that she was. Ritsu knew this. So she was scratching her mental head as to why she would go this far.

Ui went on her discussion with Mio. "I also talked with Jun-chan about strawberries and cake, and how Yui would complain if I took the strawberry off her slice."

"Oh?"

"And she would go on her spiel about how the strawberry is the heart and soul of the cake and how it should be eaten last. Yui is a staunch supporter of how cakes must be consumed."

"As for you?"

Ui stroked her chin. "Hmmm, I really could care less."

"But you know something? I know how she would feel, because I smacked Ritsu when she ate the strawberry on my cake."

"She did, did she? Oh, her."

That gave a nodding Mugi an idea. Ritsu knew what she was going to do. The question was...was it going to work? For the first time in a while, Mugi was in a scheming mode, and Ritsu could never have felt any more skeptical and wary as she saw the deep blush on her friend's face. However, Ritsu had to commend Mugi for the effort and sincerity. I knew it, she thought to herself.

Finally, the four of them got to the eighth floor, where a daruma head awaited their arrival. "Guys, I think we should go ahead and check out the reference books first," Mio said as they left the escalator.

"I think that's a good idea," Ui said as they walked to the stacks. "There may be some stuff that Wikipedia didn't go over, so it's something to fall back on."

"Hey Mugi, come with me for a bit," Ritsu said, pulling her aside to a vending machine.

"Hm? What's that?"

Ritsu slumped over, hanging her arms in disappointment. "So you were trying to act like a complete idiot, I take it?"

"Huh? Is there something wrong?"

"Yes, there is. You're doing it wrong."

"I am? I thought this would be the most improper of outfits for a summer study session."

"No my dear, that's the department of three fig leaves. What you're wearing isn't exactly passé. You have to make it more obvious. You know how we wear those animal outfits when recruiting?"

"Right, right."

"Well, if you had worn your cat outfit, now we're getting somewhere. However, that is school property, so that isn't an option."

"Animal costume to study session," Tsumugi said, noting it down for future reference.

Ritsu was flabbergasted. "No notes are needed in this case, Mugi! Besides, do you really want that big of a piece of humble pie that bad? Personally, I can't believe this."

"I do. You and Mio-chan always are in close contact with each other, with Mio-chan giving you headbumps and all, and Yui-chan does the same with Azusa-chan, and I want to experience a little bit of that skinship. I feel like I'm being left out of the whole picture here. I really love skinship! I really do!"

The confession made Ritsu very uncomfortable. "Well, I thought you also played your part in the whole skinship thing as well..."

"But it's not enough, though! I want more!"

Ritsu placed her hands on her hips, rolling her eyes. Tsumugi was not wasting any time in making her intentions felt. "Hmmmm. Fine then, I'll show you the ropes, since you are very insistent on it."

"Really? Thank you, Master Ricchan."

"At ease, grasshopper. Remember this: you mustn't be ashamed when trying to make a fool of yourself. You are unique. You are special. And you are making a statement. Put your limits to the tests, exceed them and dream big! Got it?"

"Yes, Master!"

"You know something?" Mio asked Ui as they both flipped through textbook pages. "I didn't expect you AND Ritsu to both take the college admissions exams. I would expect you, of course, but not Ritsu."

"I talked with Ricchan a few weeks ago when we were both watching the fireworks," Ui said, "and she told me that she is planning to try to get admitted to Ritsumeikan."

"She's only doing it because it has her name on it, right?"

"Not just that. She also likes the quality of education down there. That's a pretty prestigious school, Ritsumeikan is. As for me, Miss Sawako told me that if I could get a college degree, I can find better work out here."

"Thought so," Mio replied, turning to her book. "And preparing for college admission exams at this point in the year is not exactly good timing either."

"Actually, I have been doing this since May. That's on Ritsu for starting this late."

"I'll be right back, I'll go buy some hachimaki for Yui and me."

"Be quick; I need you here."

"All right!" Ui was off.

Ritsu went over the plan to trigger the payback Tsumugi. "Ready, Mugi?" she asked.

"Yeah!"

"Go!"

Off they went. "Mio?" Ritsu asked her friend. The bassist was flabbergasted at the gag frames she was wearing and the change in voice. "Duh, I swears I will pass duh exam next yuh."

"Knock it off!" Mio exclaimed.

Tsumugi jumped right in with her glasses. "Me too, Mio-chan!"

She blinked. "Mugi? No, we know you will. And those look good on you."

Ritsu pushed Mugi away. "Hey, don't use regular glasses you moron!"

Confusion crept across her face. "What? What did I do?"

O for 1.

* * *

"I like these study books," Ui said to the others as she, Ritsu and Mugi sat while Mio preferred to stand. "And as I thought, there are some things you can't find on the Wikis that are here." She continued to flip through the pages, processing and storing the information provided. "For the likes of Yui, this would be too bright for her to read."

"Process through them a little bit slower," Ritsu said. "They say that if you can read with your eyes half shut, you can start to see hidden letters in the paragraphs. I call it reading between the lines."

"Let me try that." Ui squinted. "Hey, I see something. It says here, ahem, this is the English letter A."

"No you don't!" Mio exclaimed.

Tsumugi took the lead. "I can see it too. Based on the flow of the story, and the comprehension of the intangibles, the answer would be A."

"Looking at it, you're absolutely right," Ui said. "I'll remember that."

Mio was similarly impressed. "As expected of Mugi, that's great!"

"Oh God," Ritsu muttered. "Don't actually solve the damn problem!" she whispered to her.

"Right, right," Mugi said.

0 for 2.

* * *

After 20 minutes had passed, it was time for Mio, Mugi, Ui and Ritsu to get their library IDs. In order to be processed, the four of them (along with the others) needed to bring their own photos with them, since there were no cameras on hand. With their cards, they had access to the library for life, but if they needed to have it replaced for any reason, there was a fee of 300 yen.

"Here you go," said one of the librarians at the counter, handing Mio her ID.

She took it. "Thank you. I should have brought a better photo," Mio added, turning to the others.

"Well mine's is pretty good," Ritsu said. "Take a look." Mio flinched at the sight of the back of her hairdo. "A cold, hard fact from yours truly: I'm really shy."

"Quit fooling around you jackass!" Mio said, giving her a headbump.

"Oo-haah! All right, your turn!" she motioned to Mugi, who nodded.

She presented hers to Mio. "Here's mine." All she wore was a simple fake pig snout. I am the eggman, they are the eggmen, I am the walrus, goo goo ga joo.

Mio took a closer look. "I see, you both just put stickers on yours?" She peeled the sticker off the card. "You have your eyes half open."

"Hey, the three of you," Ui said, motioning to the others, "if you guys are gonna be doing some more studying, I am going to be getting some more books from the stacks over there."

Ritsu could not believe the level of fail she was seeing from her student. "Christ almighty! Don't put a fucking weirder photo below that, you fucking wanker!"

"Sorry," Mugi stammered.

0 for 3.

"Oh, before I go," Ui said, "take a look at mine's."

"You know, you do look better with the ribbon off and the hairclips on," Mio said, nodding. "But now I can't tell if this is you or Yui."

She winked. "The bangs tell all the difference."

"I don't know how much of a difference that is," Ritsu said with a sleazebag expression to Mugi.

"Well, they ARE sisters," she replied.

"Hence my previous statement."

The rest of the study session, which went for six hours, went relatively smoothly, without any issues. Ui, being the human Wikipedia that she was, dictated the session by expanding on the questions that were set to be asked in the forthcoming exams. She was able to bring her laptop after Yui borrowed it and, forwarded some interesting facts and questions to the others. Ui was an active member on Wikipedia and posted the added information (without the drill questions, of course) to their respective articles. Ui also had a good command of English, and posted/updated articles to both the Japanese and English pages. Ritsu, Tsumugi and even Mio were stunned at Ui's savvy, but really didn't need to be that surprised at what she could do. After all, she WAS Ui Hirasawa.

* * *

As afternoon broke through the Tokyo skies, Mio and Ui took their time to leave the library. Tsumugi and Ritsu were waiting outside. "You disappoint me, grasshopper," Ritsu said in a monotonous voice echoing Pat Morita from The Karate Kid.

"I tried my best, though."

"How the hell is that trying? That isn't even. If you want to dare to be stupid like Weird Al Yankovic, for God sakes do it right!"

"Oh."

"Still, it's difficult for me to smack you because of your purity. Mio most likely feels the same way and can't do it, either. It's disappointing, I know."

"So it looks like I will never get a slap or a headbump."

"It's cause you're a rich girl, that's why."

Tsumugi admitted as much. "Mmm-hmmm."

At last, the other two arrived. "There you are," Mio said as Ui took a look at one of the novels she checked out before placing it back in her bag with her laptop.

"Thanks for waiting for us; there's some good novels here," Ui added. "I love this library. Even after I graduate, I think I'm going to come back here again and again."

Ritsu nodded. "I'm sure you do." Ui with her case of library addiction.

"Let's roll, girls." Homeward bound.

"Hey, you know we have school tomorrow, right?" Mio reminded.

"But of course. That's why we went to the library, see? I look forward to meeting with the others back at our alma mater once again. Believe it or not, I am actually tired of this vacation. I wanna do some schoolwork!"

She tossed a coin in the air before placing it back in her pocket. "I am with you 100 percent."

Ritsu looked at Tsumugi with sympathetic eyes. No matter how much she tried, she wasn't getting that piece of humble pie she was looking for. Maybe if she wasn't so spoiled, and lived closer to the Akiyamas and the Tainakas, maybe the scenario would be different. That wasn't the case. And Tsumugi knew this. But she wasn't going to give up. Not just yet.

The next day after classes, it was back to practice for the ladies of the light music club. All the members were there, and Ton-chan was swimming in his tank endlessly, floundering in his own world.

Azusa noticed something among Mugi's concessions she brought. "There's an extra piece of cake here. I don't think we can split this five ways."

"Let's decide it with rock-paper-scissors," Mio suggested to her.

"I'm not that good at it, so I refuse."

Ui snapped her fingers. "I got an idea. How about this?" She held her fists out to suggest a thumb-guessing game. Whoever could guess the number of thumbs up got it.

It was a deal. "Fine, I'll do that."

"Let's do this," Ritsu said to the crew. "The winner gets the cake, and the loser gets smacked on the forehead by the other four. How's that?"

Mio gasped in horror. "The hell? Smacked?"

"Have it your way, Ricchan," Ui replied.

Ritsu pulled Mugi aside for a bit. "Make sure you lose this one so that everyone here will smack you," she whispered. "Except for Ton-chan. He's only a turtle. Got it?"

A nod. "Yep!"

Everyone placed their fists together. "All right, let's do it! One, two, three, four...five!" Seven were up.

Ui's turn. "Ready...one, two, three!" That didn't work. Four were up.

Azusa was next. "Ready...one, two, three, four, five, six...seven!" Still no decision. Three were up.

Now it was Mio's turn. "Ready...one!" None were up.

And so it was up to Tsumugi. She knew this game, although she was new to it as well. Oh, the irony. "Ready, one...two!" Azusa and Ui trumped Ritsu yet again, to her disappointment. One and one. "I won! All right!" Not only did Tsumugi win, but since Ritsu was due to be next to call it, she got flicked on by the others.

"Bloody idiot," Ritsu said in a disgruntled tone to Tsumugi. Of course, it wasn't completely her fault. But this rich girl, in terms of her quest for that elusive slice humble pie, did not like her chances of getting it.

* * *

"Here you go," Ui said, giving her friend a friendly tap on the forehead. She was the last, after Tsumugi, Mio and Azusa followed suit.

"Iyaaaaah!" One of the most sensitive parts of her body got violated in nonchalant fashion.

As Ritsu sobbed and Azusa, Mio and Mugi looked on with looks of sympathy, Ui snapped her fingers. "I think a little background music may be in order, hang on." Plugging her iPod to the sound system, she selected "Walk All Over You" by AC/DC before sipping another cup of tea. "I'll tune it a little lower because this is AC/DC. Resume, the conversation."

"This was all your idea, Ritsu and you still lost," Mio added.

"Good work, Mugi."

"That wasn't just me; I should thank you and Azusa-chan for setting me up," she noted.

Another thumbs-up. "Our pleasure, our pleasure."

"All right then," Mio concluded, "let's finish these and practice."

"But of course. We should make this style of cake the light music club's official cake, from this day forward."

No sooner had she said that when Tsumugi came and yanked the strawberry off of Mio's slice and placed in her mouth before Mio could get to it. Two-second stealth tactic.

Mio was on the verge of tears. They started to bubble, and they came down. Like Yui, Mio believed that the top of the cake is heart and soul. Tsumugi couldn't believe what she did. "Mio-chan?"

Enraged, Ui went over, yanked her off her seat and grabbed her by the collar. "Look, Missy, I don't know what the hell has gotten into you these past few days with your eccentric, but you are not going to get the same damage Mio gives Ritsu. You must have heard our conversation yesterday in the library, didn't you, Mugi-chan?"

"Yes, I did."

"Well you know something? You should just give up. You're only gonna make Mio Akiyama cry, and that's it. Do I make myself fucking clear, ojou-sama?"

"I'm sorry, Mio-chan, I'm sorry!" Mugi whimpered.

"You should be."

Azusa was alarmed. "Sempai, that's enough! Let her go!"

Ritsu didn't know what to think. "Stay out of this, Azunyan! Oh, and Ricchan," Ui said to her with an annoyed glare, "Nice try, you rat. You're lucky I only flicked your forehead. It should have been a slap across the face for you. And a hard one at that." A gulp.

Jun walked in to check on the club. "Afternoon ladies, and what the hell is going on?" She was shocked by the spectacle. "Jesus! How did Ui get so badass all of a sudden? This is scary!"

She didn't see that one coming, that's for sure. Ui's response was curt as curt can be, and she was still lifting Mugi by the collar. "A plan gone wrong is a plan gone wrong, Jun. Mugi, I might as well be the person to do the honors here! If you continue to make Mio cry and let her shining tears stain this room," she said, throwing her down to the floor, "I'm gonna walk all over you!"

Ritsu pointed at herself. "Shouldn't those be...my words? Thief."

Mugi continued on with her whimpering mea culpas as Ritsu's mouth twitched and Azusa put a palm to her forehead in frustration. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Tsumugi chose to give the slice she won to Mio instead, to make things fair. But the damage had already been done.

* * *

Ton-chan looked at a pipe, feeding him oxygen and maintaining his body temperature. After a while, he swam away to float to another part of the tank. "Time for a little Bill Haley, and...done," Ui said, flipping the iPod to "Rock Around The Clock" and other oldies.

It was time for Mugi to be honest with Mio about the whole situation.

"So you really wanted to be smacked that badly?" Mio asked her.

"Yes, because you always do it to Ricchan, that's why. I'm sorry; I was being a little bit selfish."

"Actually, for the record: it's Mio's fault for not doing anything after so many goof-ups by the two of us," Ritsu said.

She was in denial. "No, it's not!" Mio turned to her still-guilty friend playing keyboard. "You know, you should have told us earlier about this."

"Huh?"

"You just wanted a light tap, right?"

Mugi was stunned. "I thought Ui-chan throwing me down did it, but are you sure?" All a process, all a process. It was going to be now or never.

"Sure. It's not a big deal, really."

Tsumugi was overjoyed. "Aw, mah sweetie pie, can ah hug ye tight darling!"

"What's with the southern accent again?" Ritsu asked, suspicious as ever and oblivious as ever.

"Please, now!" Tsumugi said, bowing.

"This is unusual for me," Mio said.

The tension was so thick, one could cut it with a knife. Tsumugi's heavy breathing wasn't helping matters. "D...Doesn't this make you a bit nervous?" Azusa asked, trying to cut it.

Mio decided to go the easy way out and whack Ritsu again. "Idiot! Hmph!"

Ritsu was stunned. "Son of a bitch, you're hitting the wrong person; why me you moron?"

"You had it coming, and if I was in her shoes, I'd actually send you flying across the room," Ui said.

Ritsu was defiant as ever. "Oh, fuck you, Ui!" Well, Ui did something close enough with the throw-down.

* * *

As the five of them called it a meeting, Ritsu decided to discuss the matter further. "I guess this is starting to become really frustrating for you, huh? Sorry Mugi, you are just too rich to be in my shoes, I'm telling you straight up."

"Too rich to be in your shoes, huh?"

"Yep. too rich to be in my shoes."

"I should actually apologize for making a request like that when were at Max Burger a few days ago."

"Well, don't make a request like that again, because it's not going to happen. You don't need it. I take the hits for the team. That's my job as club president. Understand, grasshopper?"

"Yes, Master."

"Anyway, if you want to be smacked, there was to be a way," Ritsu pondered. She wasn't going to give up on helping Tsumugi here.

"Thank you, but it's all right."

"You sure?"

"I just noticed something: your forehead's red." Tsumugi took a bandage and patched her up, "I think you are very good at escorting girls. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You're kind, and you go the extra mile for those you love. You'd be really popular if you were a guy."

Ritsu was stunned. "What the hell are you talking about?" she shrieked. "How am I supposed to react like that you freak?" she said, finally smacking Mugi on the head.

Her scream pierced the heavens. "Ouch!"

In spite of her tomboyishness, Ritsu Tainaka valued her femininity, and for Tsumugi to say something like that had to be a surprise. Mio never said that to her. Ui never said that to her. And Azusa certainly would be the last to say that to her. But if there had to be a gentleman in the club, or someone close to it, it was Ritsu because she played the role of the drumming troublemaker well and hard.

But down came another of Tsumugi's childhood wishes: to be given a headbump by somebody. "You did it," Tsumugi said.

Ritsu realized what she just did. "Holy cow, you're right." And how.

* * *

So it was time for a house call to Mio. The bandage was still on her head, now in Pineapple Mode. "Sorry about what happened at school, love," Ritsu said back in her bedroom over the phone as evening came. "Hey, you remember how I called you to go out and play, right?"

"Yes, and?"

"Well, I ran into Mugi after that."

"Wonder why she was down at the station. That's unusual for her."

"It's called a late shopping run, Mio. You know that."

"Like hell I do. Anyway, where'd you two run off to?"

"Where'd we go? Well, let's see. First, Mugi had to cancel the plans she had in place for the day. Then we went to the arcade, the sweets shop round the corner, and a few other places. Oh yeah, and Max Burger."

"I bet Mugi was fired-up for that."

"She hasn't been to those places, Mio. Mugi—and I'm gonna let you know this right now—Mugi gets excited about everything and everything she sees. That's how she is. Just like a little kid."

"That's not to say that you aren't a wench yourself, Ritsu?"

"Hey, no need to rub it in, sugar pie; I was only trying to give you the 4-1-1 here." Her bag was still heaping with the snacks from the shop left unconsumed next to the photo stickers from the arcade. "But you know something? We've come to expect that from her. She gets stimulated by a lot of things, and likes women. She even likes the company you and I share and the company Azusa and Yui share with each other."

"Mugi is a bona fide lesbian? I didn't know that. That is news to me. Not that I have anything against it and really I don't, but that is news."

"And news travels quickly, Mio Akiyama. Then when we are at Max Burger eating, she tells me, 'Well...I want you to give me a headbump!' And she adds that she had desired this thing for a long time; can you believe her?"

Mio laughed. "No way. Mugi's been wanting the world, I take it."

"It's bloody ridiculous, I know. but you know, that's all about going with the flow. I told her, you have to annoy the hell out of someone enough so that you get your comeuppance. When she told me that I would be popular if I was a guy...that annoyed the hell out of me because I know neither you, or Ui, or Azusa or anyone else I run into tells me that, and she was the first to say that stuff."

"I see." A long pause. It was clear that Mio had heard enough.

"Hello? Mio?" Ritsu asked. She wasn't finished talking with her. "Something wrong, love?"

"Oh God, why..."

"Hm?"

Ritsu had to back for a bit. "Why the fuck didn't you invite me too?"

"Um, hello? Earth to Mio, you didn't wanna join us in the first place. You snooze, you lose. Period. Capiche?"

"Bollocks, Ritsu Tainaka! I wanted to go out with Mugi too! This is so not fair!"

"I don't think you get the situation here. And I believe I did invite you, but you said no. I don't play like that, love. I really don't. I've had enough of your whining. Good night." And Ritsu hung up.

* * *

The following Sunday, Tsumugi was at the station, in a white blouse with blue pinstripe accents and lime-green skirt. This time, there would be no interruptions from her commitments that day. Mugi checked her messages.

A message from Ritsu. "Mugi, Mio wanted to come with us last week. She snoozes, she loses. Hope all is well."

Tsumugi smiled as she dismissed the message revealing a photo of the two of them sharing their piece of humble pie. All was indeed well.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 14**

A/N: Holy Toledo! I have decided to not wait for January, and actually get to work on this fic! Hope you are enjoying this story; as always, RXR's are welcome. Thank you for reading, and look forward to the next episode of Walk-ON! AOA!


	15. What's Next To The Moon?

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 15:**

**What's Next To The Moon?**

* * *

With autumn coming to Japan once again, the second term was coming to Sakuragaoka High. Summer had concluded, and the push for graduation continued in earnest for its proud, hopeful senior class. Plans were underway for its students to be accepted to the finest universities in the country and abroad.

For Ui Hirasawa, Mio Akiyama, Ritsu Tainaka and Tsumugi Kotobuki, there were less than seven months remaining before they would go their separate ways. It was important for them to not only make the most of their time together as members of the Light Music Club, but to groom Azusa Nakano as the succeeding president of the organization when the following April began in 2011. As for Azusa, she knew that the clock continued to tick on her time with her beloved sempai, especially Ui, who she looked up to the most.

The headmaster of the school spoke at a special meeting for its freshmen, sophomore and senior classes inside the auditorium. A separate meeting was held at the Boys' Campus. "Ladies of the Girls Campus, welcome back," he said. "The end of the summer brings about the start of your second term. I hope everyone had a wonderful summer break. I'm excited to also see everyone's healthy, tanned faces again." The students laughed.

He went on. "Ladies, the experiences that you have had during your high school summers are priceless and should be treasured, because they are the only ones you will have your entire life. I wish you all the best during this second term, as you continue your journey here at Sakuragaoka High, and to our senior class, it is my hope that you will continue to strive hard, to do your best, and to represent your school, those that came before you, and yourselves well. Thank you."

Upstairs in the music room, Ton-chan swam up to the surface, perhaps to take stock in the important news going on. Even turtles could comprehend the information coming in. 'Seems we're entering the home stretch,' he thought.

* * *

"Would you believe it," Ui said to Mio and Tsumugi, sipping a bottle of water, "this summer came and gone like a crane in flight. Crazy, you know? Unbelievable."

"Time flies when you're having fun," Mugi admitted.

"And speaking of which," Ritsu added, walking back to the three of them, "you had a lot of fun during the break, Ui. You lapped it up."

"Well you had your share as well, don't forget that," Ui added pointing to her.

"But you shouldn't be too loose," Mio said. "I mean, we all know you can get away with it, but at least act like you can moderate yourself, with the college admission exams coming up."

"I know, I know."

"In any case, we made so many memories that I believe we will treasure for the rest of our lives, you know," Tsumugi said.

"I know, right? The Natsu Rock Festival, the summer festival here, and Azusa got to hang around at the pool with Nodoka-chan and Yui."

"Don't forget the sweets shop up the road."

"Oh yes; who could forget?"

Azusa ran over to the crew, leaping into Ui's waiting arms, "Morning everyone! The second term has finally started! Hallelujah!"

She petted her head as if she was her own. "And how is my little kitten doing?"

"Fine as always-nyan!"

"Excellent."

Ritsu and Tsumugi were wincing. "Too...bright," Ritsu grimaced.

"But...so wonderful," Mugi added. "Aren't they wonderful together?"

"Definitely. I cannot think of anyone else."

"I am so excited!" Azusa exclaimed. "The start of the term means it's time for the school festival, as well as our concert!"

"Oh boy," Ui said, scruffing her hair a little more before letting her go. "I feel a bevy of awesome coming, everyone. I love your enthusiasm, and the source behind it all, Azunyan. I can't wait as well."

"So that's why you're so hyped," Ritsu noted.

"I think we can make it a success again," Mio said.

"Mmm-hmmm, mmm-hmmm, speak the truth."

Tsumugi's ears perked up. "I just realized something."

"Hmm? What's up, Mugi?"

"We have this. Take a look." Tsumugi showed the others a poster for the school's marathon.

"You know, Yui envies me because I can run and she can't," Ui said to the team. "Doesn't hurt to get my legs in shape every now and then."

"Guys, I bet you that Ui is going to easily win a race between her, me, you and Mugi, Mio," Ritsu predicted. "And it's not going to be close."

"Hey, hey, no need to jump to conclusions before the fact," she warned, shaking a finger.

"I know; I was just flattering you. In any case," she said, her voice changing to that of a serious nature, "it's already that time of the year!"

"And I want you guys to note this: if I get accepted to a university that has a track team, I will go ahead and give it a try and join it. But only for intramural purposes."

"As if we couldn't see that one coming," Mio groaned as she placed a palm to her face. She placed a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder. "Just for future references: the colleges here don't generally hold all-campus marathons, but I wish you all the best in your intramural endeavors."

"You're a good partner, Mio. Thank you."

"Anytime, anytime."

* * *

Back at the Hirasawa house, Ui decided to head off to school at a jogging pace as morning began. "See you, Mom!" she said.

"Take care, Ui-chan!" Mrs. Hirasawa replied. Yui already was walking off to class.

Grandma Hirasawa was sweeping the dirt off her house, when she caught notice of Ui. "Ui-chan, good morning," she said.

"Good morning, Granny."

"I hope you have a safe walk."

"Yep. See you!" And she continued her morning jog.

"God bless my grandchild," Grandma said, continuing to sweep the dirt off the walkway.

It was business as usual on campus, as the countdown to the marathon began in earnest. "I think a little diversion from the usuals never hurt no one," Tsumugi said back at Class 3-2, feasting on some grilled eel from her bento, which also has some omelet, ham and salad.

Mio was surprised. "So it's unagi today, huh? We don't usually see you with this food."

"According to what I know, this helps build up stamina for the marathon."

She nodded in acknowledgement. "We'll take your word for it."

"We know that you can lift the heavy stuff," Ritsu said to her, "but the stamina portion is lacking, so we can see why you brought this."

"That takes massive amounts of courage. Well done."

Mugi blushed. "Thank you."

"As for me," Ui said, "I'm prepping up by running in the morning and also in the evening. Two times, 30 minutes, and I'm also evaluating how fast I can go while building up my speed."

"Do you really need to go through that?" Ritsu asked sheepishly. "You're going to win this race so easily, you don't even need training."

"I don't put my head in the clouds when it comes to these types of marathons, Ricchan. Even champions have to train for something like this. You see it on TV, don't you?"

"Yeah, but..."

"Oh, and for the record, I do not take steroids."

"Couldn't resist bringing that up, huh?" Mio said with a grin.

"Had to."

At the music room, Ton-chan was listening in on the plans as Tsumugi made some tea. "Question," Ui said, "and this is for anyone willing to answer: are we all running 42.195 kilometers?"

"I don't believe so, it's just going to be about four or five kilometers," Azusa replied.

"That makes more sense. See, that would be a lot of laps to run if we went for an actual marathon length."

"No one, not even you, could survive something like that," Mio deadpanned.

"You never know." Mio froze for a little bit.

"You're...scaring us..."

Miss Sawako Yamanaka came in to greet them. "Hey you guys. I think if you wear some of my outfits, like my maid costumes, it will be a bit more fun."

"Hi, Miss Sawako," Ui said.

"Anyone interested?"

"We'll pass," Mio said. "No, thank you."

"Agreed," Ritsu added. "They would get in the way."

"I think the marathon would be canceled after this year if the entire school went running in those outfits," Azusa said.

"I don't think the school's marathon committee will allow participants to run in costumes, Miss Sawako," Ui said.

"It was a joke."

"We know."

Mugi offered a cup. "Tea, Miss Sawako?"

"Yes, please. Man, I have been waiting for this for quite a while." Sawako took a sip.

"Now this is an interesting gelatin," Ui said, digging in. "It's black."

"Is this the black sesame seed flavor I have been seeing on the shelves at Lawsons, Mugi-chan?" Sawako asked.

"Mmm-hmmm. Have some."

"I will." She tried it out, savoring the morsel. "A mysterious flavor, that."

"It's pretty good," Ui said, working on her plate. "Lemme guess: more stamina-building material, Mugi?"

"Correct. I wanted us to get an extra boost of iron before the marathon, so I brought this blancmange made with konbu and hijiki."

"You could have just handed us some pills from the vitamin shop, and that would have done it. But this is fine, too."

The advisor went one her one-person panegyric. "This has the hint of the coast," Sawako added, doing her best Iron Chef taster impersonation. "I can feel the rush of the ocean dancing on my tongue."

For Mio and Azusa, it was an acquired taste. Ritsu was wondering why this was brought in to the meeting. This flavor of blancmange was definitely a change of scenery. Late afternoon, early autumn, the harbor, gulls flying overhead as people talked about visions of many things in a land of broken dreams. What did become of the broken-hearted?

"Next time, do bring me a normal one," Sawako reminded Tsumugi.

"As you wish, teacher."

* * *

And so the afternoon came across the city skyline, just like that. Ui was shopping with Yui for some affordable running shoes at one of the local stores. "I think these ones look good enough to run in," Ui said to Yui, holding an orange and white pair of sneakers. "What do you think?"

The younger sister nodded. "I think anything with the swoosh on it is good for running."

"Actually, I prefer adidas, and this is a pair of adidas shoes, but Nike is also a good brand."

"Onee-chan, you're so good at running; you can go barefoot and still run like the wind."

"You're being too much of a flatterer, dearest sister. I think I can afford this pair. It's 2,980 yen, but I like to see a cheaper alternative. I don't want to go too cheap, though."

Sawako's magenta minivan stopped by for a visit. She flagged down the Hirasawas rather easily without knowing. "Hey ho, it's Miss Sawako," Ui said.

"Sawa-chan-sensei?" Yui said. "Surprised to see her here."

Sawako noticed the two of them waving. "You guys wanna go for a ride?" she asked.

Ui nodded to Yui, who both nodded to her. "Sure, why not."

Ui felt the thrill of achieving another personal first. "At last. I get to ride in Miss Sawako's car."

Yui was equally captive. "Me too, me too!"

She wanted to ask a question. "Miss Sawako?"

"What's up?"

"Were you shopping as well?"

"As a matter of fact," she said, tuning in to the news radio, "I was. However, I should let you know that I am still on the job right now."

Ui's eyebrows were raised, and so were Yui's. "Oooooh."

"It's the marathon supplies. I had to buy them because at the meeting earlier today down at the office, I was assigned the duty of procuring them."

"I see," Ui said, stroking her chin.

"See, every one of us teachers splits up the workload, and this is my share."

Ui took a look at one of the supplies and examined the packaging before placing it back in the bag. "Gatorade and paper cups. I'm gonna need this. But aren't there vending machines with this too."

"Yeah, but on marathon day, those things are going to be empty because of everybody running the 5K. So I'm bringing extra to be safe."

"You're using the school funds for this, right?"

"Of course, Ui! I can't buy this out of my own pocket. The school provides the money, and I buy the supplies, get the receipt, and send it to the office, and they take care of it. That's how it's done."

Yui was impressed by the nuances of the whole thing. "Wow..."

"Anyway," Ui asked, "is it really fine with you to give us a ride. I mean, it's great that you're doing this, but..."

"Don't sweat it, Ui-chan. Look: you two girls and the rest of the people at the club and Class 3-2 are some of the finest students I have had the pleasure working with. This is unprecedented. I feel that it is my duty to show you how much I appreciate you being my students. I call it going the extra mile."

"Thanks. We're humbled, Miss Sawako."

"Sawa-chan-sensei is the best!" Yui exclaimed.

"That's what I want to hear," she replied, adjusting her frames in acknowledgement. "Anyway, I was originally going to take one more look at the marathon course on the way back to campus."

"I see," Ui replied. "Oh, and you brought some mochi and azuki beans. More fuel for us, right?"

"Right. We plan to serve some oshiruko in the school yard once the marathon is done."

Yui was excited. "Oshiruko!" An azuki bean and mochi porridge.

"She likes that stuff," Ui added.

"There's a lot of preparation for something like this, you know," Sawako said. "There's running the shopping errands, checking the course, submitting the plan to the local police department...it's all a process, all a process. You know, us teachers thought, hey, we're gonna have it easy since we didn't need to do the running. But this makes up for it. Hard work."

"Hmmmm."

Yui held a mochi ball and a bag of azuki beans. "I might be able to do it if there's going to be oshiruko."

"Don't worry. You will."

"I should remind you that the course is more difficult than last year's," the teacher warned.

Yui was stunned. "Ehhhhh?"

Sawako went on with her description. "You start here, in the shopping district." Yui started to be a bit fearful, while Ui took visual note of the route. Ui understood that for the most part, this was a flat race through the streets, and didn't have a lot of inclines to deal with. "So you run down this street, fighting the urge to window-shop at the sweet-smelling bakeries, colorful boutiques and cute accessory shops."

Yui clutched the bag tighter. "Hey Yui," Ui said, "get a hold of yourself."

The preview continued, courtesy of Miss Sawako. "Then you cross the bridge into a residential farmland area. This is a mundane, straight road with rice paddies nearing harvest on your right side. However, just up ahead is what we call Heartbreak Hill, a killer both up and down."

"The first major incline and decline on the route," Ui said.

"Yep. It will definitely smash your heart into pieces! It's a battle against yourself, and unless you are victorious, you will never reach the goal!"

"We get it, we get it. Next!" An aspiring young biker was compensating the incline as he made his way to the top.

"So once you've endured this trial and conquered this hill from hell, you will reach the park, which is also the checkpoint. At this point, you are going to have to gather your remaining energy for the home stretch!" The teacher was fired up, by the way, because she ran something like this before as a student. "You're almost to the goal...Sakuragaoka High School and the track! And that, ladies, is the course."

"Uh huh. So there's only one incline and decline? Hmmm..." Ui realized that Heartbreak Hill could be where she could lose the rest of the pack and look to set at least a school-best. She wasn't out to set any records, but at the same time she didn't realize how capable she would be to do so. Ui watched Yui feel sick to her stomach. "Hey, Yui, get a hold of yourself."

"Onee-chan...I don't feel so good..."

Ui noticed something interesting regarding the route. "Just realized, it's by our house, Yui." That didn't help Yui from being ill.

Back at the house, Ui was fixing dinner while Yui was watching a special on Kenyan distance runners on ESPN. "She didn't have to try so hard, you know," Yui said.

"Looks like she wanted to raise the bar a little bit more," Ui added as her younger sister slumped on the couch. "You know, Yui, you look cute when you're slumped over like that."

"Onee-chan, thanks."

Ui chuckled. "I try." She picked up a stray piece of food. "I just realized something."

"Hmmm? What is it, onee-chan?"

"That piece of mochi fell into our bag."

"It did? Oh wow." Naturally, Ui took it for herself.

The following day, Jun Suzuki fell in with the HTT seniors for their lunch break. "Tomorrow is the big day guys," Ui said to the crew. "Are you all ready?"

"Hope so," Tsumugi said.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Ritsu admitted. "Anyway, question: how much are we allowed to spend on snacks again?"

"Jackass, this isn't a school outing!" Mio said, making her ladyfriend know her lady-place.

"Well you know something, guys," Ui said, pointing at each and every one at her table with her chopsticks, "allowing us to bring snacks would have been a major incentive. More so for you guys and especially Ricchan; I think I can compensate."

"Well, you know guys, we can't bring snacks," Jun said, "but when you guys reach the finish line, the teachers will have oshiruko ready for you."

She helped herself to the mochi. "Yui likes that stuff, but the thing is she has a problem with having to run 5,000 meters before she gets a big bowl of it."

"Hey, what's that?" Ritsu asked.

"Mochi."

"Mochi? That's crazy! Don't tell me you want to stick with it or stretch her energy."

"Actually, Miss Sawako gave it to me, you see. We wanted to give it back, but she told me to eat it and prepare for the run."

"Did you hear it first?" Mio asked. She noticed a stretchy mass of glutinous rice that Ui was eating. "Oh. You did."

"Mmmm."

"If it rains tomorrow," Tsumugi said, "it will be canceled."

"I hope not," Ui said.

Ritsu couldn't believe it. Outrageous. "You hope not?"

"I wanna get my legs in shape. This only happens once in your lifetime, guys. For me, I plan to carpe diem this thing."

"You want to carpe diem everything, Ui, I can't believe it."

"I know, right?" Jun asked the others as they worked on their lunch. "But that's how she is."

Ui tuned in to the 7 o'clock news for the weather back at the house. "There will be a zero percent chance of rain tomorrow, with temperatures in the low to mid 20's Celsius, mostly sunny," the weatherwoman said. "It will be a great day to do you laundry work. Back to you, Hiro..."

"Should be a good day for running, too," Ui noted as she made some tea for Yui, who was making some teru teru bozu charms to bring rain. "What are you doing?"

"Teru Teru Bozu. Gonna hang 'em upside down."

"It's not going to rain tomorrow, Yui."

"Aw, but onee-chan, it's possible. Granny told me that this will help make it rain."

Ui sighed. "I'm telling you, it's not gonna happen. Here, have some tea."

While Yui was hanging the teru teru bozu upside down outside the house, Ui was reflecting on the run she was about to encounter, and the possibility of getting a good time in. For her, it didn't matter whether she finished first or last; what mattered was that she finished with a good time. Every now and then, Ui took lines from the Bible and used it to her advantage. Tonight, it was a line that said: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7.

Then the morning came, and Ui stretched in her uniform as she went out. "See? I told you it was going to be a good day for running," she told a clearly disappointed—and sleepy—Yui.

"Crap." Yui could only curse at her bad luck. "I'm in for it now!"

It was the day of the marathon, and hopes were high that everyone would be able to complete the race, whether by running, or walking, or a little of both.

"This is our declaration," Jun said to the headmaster at the meeting. "We declare to honor sportsmanship and have a fair race from start to finish. Representing the students, from Class 3-2, Jun Suzuki."

The start of the race was at the school and looped around all the sights that Miss Sawako went over with Ui and Yui. The seniors gathered around the starting line. Mugi and Mio tied their hair back. "Everyone, take your marks," the race official said. "Ready...go!" He fired his gun, and the race began.

"Seems everyone is serious about this race," Ritsu said, "including...Ui? Holy cow!"

"I'm gonna go ahead of you guys, all right?" said Ui. "Me and Jun will meet you at the finish." Well that took a lot of drama away from the ending. "Hey Jun, you with me?"

"We'll see you in a bit!" she replied. "Good luck! Don't think you can outrace the rest of us at this school, Ui Hirasawa!"

"It's on, Jun Suzuki! It's on!"

And both of them took off. Ui would end up finishing the race first, with a time of 14 minutes flat, a new school record and world record if it was rendered official by the authorities that be. Jun would finish at the head of a chase pack of seven, one minute behind.

"Wow, just wow," Mio said. "I don't think we are going to catch them. So this race is gonna be between the three of us."

Ritsu was shaking her head, "I knew Ui wanted to win this race, but to go off to a flying start ahead of everyone? Man, this is crazy. The scary thing is that she can probably keep this up."

"It's a crazy world we live in," Tsumugi said. "Someone's gonna have to run around it."

"Besides, there's not even a prize for winning this. A 5,000-meter event like this is essentially a fun run and a way to get our minds and bodies in shape. See, we would normally wager our clubroom against an organization that is established, like the Judo Club, the Tea Ceremony Club, Goban and all that stuff. And if we lose, they would take our club room."

"I suppose it was wise that we didn't do the wager."

"No, we wouldn't," Mio deadpanned.

Tsumugi took in the fresh air. "This really is a wonderful day for a school outing. No snacks, but still."

"Guys, I realized that if we're too slow and finish last...I might be on the newspaper for all the wrong reasons. Dammit! We'd be drawing too much attention!"

"Too much, in this instance," Ritsu explained as they prepared to enter the shopping district in a few minutes, "is not a bad thing. It's a good thing."

"In any case, you guys need to get serious about this. Let's get going!" Mio elected to pick up the tempo, dropping Ritsu and Tsumugi.

"I like how we're able to be outside on a weekday, Mugi."

Tsumugi admitted as much "Hmmm. Very beautiful day for a run." Eventually, those two elected to pick up the pace as well.

The freshmen and sophomores went ahead of the seniors at the event. Azusa and Yui were running together, both setting the pace for each other. "You're not tired, are you?" Azusa asked Yui as they cruised past the shopping district. Ui already went ahead of both of them at this point.

"No, but I feel a bit disappointed that the oshiruko is going to have to wait till we're done."

"Good things come to those who wait, Yui."

"That's true."

Nodoka Manabe jogged over to also help with pacesetting. "Hey guys. You all right?"

"Fine as ever, Nodoka," Azusa replied.

"Can we slow things down a bit before we pick it up?"

"Sure." And they did.

"Get this, guys. Ui-sempai just ran by the entire sophomore class."

"Ui-sempai's really fast," Azusa said. "I'm seeing her, and I don't see anyone else in blue sweatpants for a few minutes until I see a chase pack with Jun-sempai."

"The freshman class is up the road and she could be catching up to them, by the way."

"Onee-chan is a real runner," Yui said. "She's amazing! Oh, and here's Mio-chan." They noticed Mio running up to them. "Aren't you with the others?"

"Ritsu and Mugi are going at a leisurely pace, and as you already know, Ui is running by everybody."

"Should we kick it up, Mio-sempai?" Nodoka asked her.

"Let's do it." They did.

"You gotta love Nodoka-chan," Yui said.

"She really is something special," Azusa admitted.

"The fact that we are running through the streets in our gym uniform seems to be a tradition at the school. They realize, oh, those are the students. It's fun."

"Isn't it? Great day, too. I think next Sunday we are going to do some shopping, so we'll go back here when that time comes."

"You know it, Azunyan! Let's go!"

By the point, Ui was heading down the farmland portion of the route. Jun realized that she wasn't going to catch her, but at least she would make Top 10.

"That cake looks so good," Tsumugi said, window-shopping the treats.

"Uh, we can look at that later, Mugi," Ritsu said. "Let's run."

"Ooops, you're right." Mugi got distracted again. "What a cute kitty." It was walking down an alley, that darn cat.

"Hello, earth to Mugi? We're supposed to run!"

"You're right, you're right." As they went on their way, a young boy was mesmerized by the two girls jogging along, holding the rear, it seems.

* * *

"Do you think we should go get some refreshments?" Tsumugi asked Ritsu as they stopped by a vending machine along the route. "I've never seen banana-flavored beverages. Must be a special type of puree."

"No, I wouldn't think so."

"Welcome," the machine said.

"And I've never seen a machine speak in my life," Mugi added.

A little bulldog barked to say hello. "What a nice doggie. All right, we're done here."

"Mugi," Ritsu said, "you need to stay focused. We're here to run a race, not mope about town!" By this point, Ui had cleared Heartbreak Hill in the style of the Kenyans en route towards the checkpoint.

Tsumugi noticed someone in the distance. "Hey, it's Mio-chan!"

"What are you guys doing out here?" she asked, joining the two as they continued on their way.

"Sorry, we got a bit sidetracked, Mio. Let's pick it up."

"Quick!" Off they went.

* * *

Ui Hirasawa was closing in on the school, making one final kick towards the finish line. "And the winner of this year's School Marathon is Ui Hirasawa of Class 3-2 with a time of 14:00 flat, a new school record!" the announcer said with an emphatic tone. "Give this wonderful student a hand, everyone!" The teachers at the tables were applauding as Ui waved to them before walking down to the vending machines to grab some Gatorade. Because she was the very first student to make it to the finish, she got to beat the vending machine lines, and would rehydrate almost immediately.

"Not a bad run, Ui," Jun said a minute later, finishing her run.

"I beat the school by 60 seconds," Ui said, sipping a bottle of orange Gatorade. "It's too bad I won't be able to spend time with the cross country team."

"You really should have tried out for the team," she replied with a frown as a few freshmen, sophomores and seniors crossed the line.

Ui grabbed her track jacket and zipped it on. "I'll opt to exercise my mind rather than my body, but at least I was able to get my legs in shape."

"You didn't cramp, did you?" Ui shook her bottle in front of Jun. "Never mind."

One of the teachers handed a mobile over to Ui. "Is this for me?" Ui asked.

"Mmm-hmmmm."

"I wonder who this could be. Hello."

"It's your teacher at the checkpoint."

"Miss Sawako! Hi! How are things down there?"

"I got the news that you set a new record for finishing the school marathon," she replied. "I have never heard of anyone finish the race in 14 minutes flat. I knew you were fast, but not that fast. You don't happen to be the second coming of Atalanta, are you?"

"No, I just ran at my top speed, that's all. I really wanted to get my legs in shape, burn some pounds off, etc."

"Well, what you also did, Ui-chan, is that you took this race really seriously. I'm proud of you."

She blushed. "Thank you Miss Sawako, you're too kind." Ui noticed a number of musicians getting instruments out on a set of bleachers. She gave the phone back to the teacher and walked over to the group of musicians. "I didn't know that our school had a marching band. Why aren't you guys running?"

"Oh, we'll be running after you guys finish the race," said one of the drum majors, watching the players get their instruments. Right now, we are doing some marching drills as part of our band practice.

"So you guys will be running the same route as us, huh?"

"Jogging the same route. We need to run this to improve our marching dexterity."

"That gives me an idea. By the way, I'm Ui Hirasawa, third year student and guitarist for the Light Music Club."

They shook hands. "Hikari Matsuzaka, drum major, second year, Sakuragaoka High Marching Blossoms."

"Anyway, back to my idea. When all the members from my band finish the race, I'm gonna signal you guys to play us some songs before you go ahead and do your run. I'll say, 'Hey Band!', the band will shout out 'What's that noise, Ui?', then I will respond with 'Strike It Up!' and you play a song of your choice."

Hikari nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Was there any song you had in mind?"

"I like a punk rock cover, your choice. How's that?"

"You got a deal." They shook hands again.

"See you guys in a bit. Thanks for coming out."

Hikari gave a salute. "Anytime...Ui-sempai."

"You still aren't tired, are you, Nodoka-chan, Azunyan?" Yui asked the three of them heading up the summit of Heartbreak Hill, pointing at both of them with two fingers.

"Cruising along, no sweat," Nodoka replied.

"We're going at a good pace, so we should complete the race in under 17 if we go at the pace we're going," Azusa added.

Yui's eyebrows were raised "I see you brought a watch, Azunyan."

She giggled. "It's a stopwatch, too, Yui. So far, we are making good time."

"I'm actually starting to get a little tired, but let's try to keep at the same pace, all right?"

"No problem. Hang in there, Yui. Hang in there." She was going to huff and puff for the remainder of the race but would make it.

"Hey, is that Azusa, Yui and Nodoka at the top of the hill?" Mio asked Ritsu.

"Looks like it, but it looks like they are now going down."

"That means the checkpoint isn't too far ahead," Mugi said. "You know, I don't think this run is made for non-sports club members like us, even though Ui, I think, probably finished the race by now. The track and field team and the judo club wouldn't mind having Ui on board with them."

"Enough talk about Ui," Ritsu said, exasperated. "Let's talk about us!"

"At the Light Music Club," Mio said, "we have our own style of doing things. How about this: maybe we should think of a rhythm to run to."

Ritsu warmed up to it. "Seems like a good idea. We can run while we're singing."

"Right," they all said, nodding.

Ritsu sounded off as the three of them went on their way. "Let's go! 1, 2, 3, 4!" Ritsu, Mio, and Tsumugi sang a few classics, like Fuwa Fuwa Time and My Love Is A Stapler. It seemed to work out well...for a little bit.

"It seems difficult for me to sing while running," Tsumugi said trying to come up for air. "I wish we could run with iPods on!"

"Mugi can't keep up," Ritsu said with a sympathetic look on her face as she and Mio looked past their shoulders.

"Let's just play the music in our head," Mio said. That was going to work the best as they made their way up Heartbreak Hill.

"If anybody forgets the lyrics," Ritsu said, "just fill it up with 'la la la,' all right?'

"Just in case, huh?" They tarried on. Ritsu had Fuwa Fuwa Time in her head, Mio had My Love Is A Stapler, but Tsumugi had a different song in her head: What's Next To The Moon by AC/DC.

* * *

_"Well I tied my baby to the railroad track_

_Cannonball down the line_

_Giving that woman just a one more chance_

_To give it to me one more time_

_Engineer wishing he was home in bed_

_Dreaming about Casey Jones_

_Wide-eyed woman half a mile ahead_

_Thinking about broken bones_

_It's her love that I want_

_It's her love that I need_

_It's her love got to have_

_It's her love_

_Heavenly body flying across the sky_

_Superman was out of town_

_Come on honey, gotta change your tune_

_Cause it's a long way down_

_Clark Kent looking for a free ride_

_Thinking about Lois Lane_

_It's a bird, it's a plane, it's - a suicide_

_And that'd be a shame_

_It's her love that I want_

_It's her love that I need_

_It's her love got to have_

_It's her love_

_But what's next to the moon?_

_Long Arm looking for a fingerprint_

_Trying to find the mystery clue_

_Hitting me with the third degree_

_Working on a thumb screw_

_Alright, officer, I confess_

_Everything's coming back_

_I didn't mean to hurt that woman of mine_

_It was a heart attack_

_It's her love that I want_

_It's her love that I need_

_It's her love got to have_

_It's her love guaranteed_

_Her love that I want_

_It's her love that I need_

_It's her love got to have_

_It's her love_

_What's next to the moon?"_

* * *

"What's on your mind?" Ritsu asked Tsumugi.

"AC/DC," she said.

"I didn't think that someone as cultured as you likes music like that."

"I broaden my horizons." Back to a singsong voice. "What's next to the moon...?"

"Going back to that?"

"Ricchan, a question: what is next to the moon?"

"Empty space; why do you ask?"

"I just realized something," Mio said to the two of them. "We got us some new lyrics. We gotta relay this to Azusa and Ui when we see them."

"Cool," Ritsu said.

Tsumugi was impressed. "We can play that at the school festival. That's our Mio."

She pondered the lyrics, "Heartbreaker, ripping my heart...My heart is pounding so much it might burst...is this pain because of you? Or...because of the marathon?"

Ritsu was stunned. "Holy crap! Does Mio have runner's high?" That rush of adrenaline was what kept Mio going. It was absolutely ridiculous, and only added to her mystique.

At last they got to the top of the hill. "Fight-o!" the three of them cried.

"Keep it up, Mugi!" Ritsu said to her. "Heartbreak Hill is behind us now! It's a flat route from here on out." She flagged Nodoka, who elected to take some time to quickly place a wristwatch with a timer on. "Hey, here is Yui's best friend, Manabi-san."

"Manabe," Mio corrected.

"Oh, right, Nodoka-chan."

"Yes," she replied. "Mio-sempai, so you rejoined the Light Music Club group, I think. Wait a minute, that doesn't make sense. You're still with them, right?"

Mio placed her hands on her hips. "I believe I am."

"You think Ui already finished the marathon by now?"

"It wouldn't surprise us if she finished cooling down by this point," Ritsu replied.

"Not one bit," Mugi added. "I really believe she finished this race in first."

"Dammit. That is a very good possibility." Sweat drops came down Mio's and Mugi's heads. They were heating up, and Ui was cooling down. Already. It was bloody ridiculous. And they didn't realize how correct Mugi's guess would be.

"I'll go ahead," Nodoka said, taking off.. "See you guys there."

Miss Sawako looked at some records set by distance runners from Kenya and Ethiopia. "So Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba set the previous women's world record of 14:11.15 on June 6, 2008," she said, reading the marks. "And Ui broke that by 11-plus seconds. Unbelievable. No steroids taken, either."

"So this is a very good possibility," Ritsu said. "Any case, while going on her world-record escapade, Ui wouldn't mistake this tiny pathway for the course-hold the friggin' phone! Where the hell are we?"

Tsumugi was shocked. "Are we lost, too?" Yes, they were.

"Looks like we underestimated the marathon by a country mile."

"Well you did," Mio said, "we were just following you."

"But it's all right! I'm good at surviving!" Ritsu pointed to some poisonous fungi. "See, we have mushrooms for food! See? The pretty red and white polka-dotted ones. Maybe they're poisonous, but who cares?"

"Ladies, what are you doing down there/" Miss Sawako asked the three of them, leaving the checkpoint to a group of sophomores handing out cups to stragglers.

Ritsu put a hand behind her head. "Teheh! We were just messing around, that's all."

"Oh come on, you've got a ways yet to run; the school's up ahead!"

"We were together up here," Tsumugi replied, "singing and stuff."

Ritsu concurred. "That's what she said! And then Miss Akiyama started writing a new song."

"But good lyrics popped into my head," Mio said to her.

"You can do that stuff later," Sawako said. "Get back on the route and start running!"

"Yes, ma'am!" they replied.

"Had a good run, Yui?" Ui asked her younger sister, who finally crossed the finish line back at the track. She was bringing them their track jackets.

Yui slumped over on the bench. "Not bad. I was able to break 17 minutes, but barely. I'm really tired, though."

"I paced her," Azusa said.

"I think you had a good run as well. Azunyan, where did Nodoka go?" Ui asked her, working on her second bottle of Gatorade.

"Had to stop to get her watch back on. She'll meet us here in a few minutes. By the way, the news I got is that you finished first. Is that true?"

Ui showed her the trophy, a simple plaque. "Like it?"

"Amazing! Congratulations."

"Onee-chan is the greatest runner in the world!" Yui exclaimed. She shouted to everyone. "Everybody, onee-chan is the greatest runner in the world!" They all applauded and cheered.

"All right, all right," Ui said, "calm down."

"But that was amazing, though! 14 minutes flat? Totally awesome."

"I know, I know; just relax."

Jun went over to meet up with them, "Hey guys."

Ui gave her a high-five. "What's up, Jun-chan?"

"The oshiruko is ready," she replied, pointing to a set of tables serving porridge. "Better get yours before it's gone."

"I guess we'll go grab some. Yui, Azunyan, let's get our fill while we wait for the others. How about it?"

Yui was captive as she rose from her seat. "Yay! Oshiruko, oshiruko!"

"Let's grab some," Azusa said, getting off the bench.

"One mochi per student," Jun reminded.

"Awww, that's no fun," Yui retorted, her lips in a pout.

"No need to be greedy."

"That's what she said," Ui added, as Yui continued to pout while the four of them went to the table.

Azusa noticed something in the distance. "Hey, there's Nodoka."

Yui called her out. "Nodoka-chan, over here!"

"Yui, there you are," she said, walking over to them. "The other three members of the club are running a bit behind but should be there in a bit."

"I hope they make it," Azusa said. "It would be a shame if they don't get to eat some oshiruko."

"Do you think we are making good time?" Tsumugi asked Mio and Ritsu as they continued on their way.

"I hope so," Mio said.

"We'll be fine at the pace we are going," Ritsu added. "I bet you we will get to the school in about five minutes."

A couple of students passed them by. "Hey, isn't this where people reported UFO sightings?" asked one of them.

"We should use that for the school festival," the other replied to her as they went off.

"Interesting," Ritsu noted. "Is it true that people get abducted by UFOs in this part of the city?"

Mio was stunned. "What the heck? Are you trying to scare me again?"

"No, I was only asking a valid question, cause I wasn't so sure if young girls get abducted by aliens here and there in this part of town."

"I want to get abducted!" Tsumugi said. "It has been one of my dreams to be abducted in this part of town by aliens!"

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope."

"Ugh. Whatever, let's go ahead and kick it up a notch, we're almost there."

"I hope we're not the last-place finishers in this whole thing," Mio said to them. "The last-place finishers will get all the attention for all the wrong reasons. It's embarrassing!"

Ritsu was such a tease. "I get a feeling that you are going to trip again and gain more fans from being so damn sexy doing it and doing it and doing it, wow!"

"Oh, shut up Ritsu! As if that's gonna happen! Stop making weird predictions you pervert!"

"Oww!" She had that headbump coming.

* * *

"Well I tied my baby to the railroad track, cannonball down the line," Ui sang as she ate some oshiruko. "Giving that woman just a one more chance to give it to me one more time..."

"AC/DC in your head again?" Nodoka asked Ui as Yui savored her bowl.

"I've got a question: what is next to the moon?"

"It's empty space, I believe."

"But isn't the moon really made of cheese?" Yui asked the others. "That means...there must be cows next to the moon making the milk for the cheese!"

"That's just a myth, Yui," Azusa snarled. "The moon is just a rock orbiting the Earth."

"Ehhhh? I don't think so. It's made of cheese, so there is something next to the moon!"

Ui laughed. "I'll think twice before asking that question." Back to singing. "Alright, officer, I confess, everything's coming back. I didn't mean to hurt that woman of mine. It was a heart attack..."

Nodoka laughed as she continued to eat her bowl.

"It's her love that I want," Jun sang.

"It's her love that I need," Ui responded.

"It's her love, got to have."

They both joined in unison. "It's her love! But what's next to the moon!" More laughter.

"That is such a fun song," Jun said.

"Isn't it? One of my favorites." Ui noticed three people running toward the school. "Ah, here they come. Hold on." She walked over to one of the seniors holding the tape. "Ichigo Wakaouji, let me hold that for you. Take a seat."

"Yes, Ms. Hirasawa," she said.

"Just call me Ui." Ui called them out. "Come oooon doooown!"

"There's the finish!" Ritsu said. "Let's kick it into high gear! For the club and the colors! You ready, Mio, Mugi?"

"Mio-sempai, the oshiruko's waiting!" Azusa said to them.

"Let's go!" Mio said.

Tsumugi gave it all she got. "All right!"

"They're going real quick," Nodoka said.

"Mmm-hmmm, mmm-hmmm, that's my crew right there," Ui replied.

As they made one last dash to the finish, Ui took a look at the people who finished in terms of order. Naturally, she had a better view of who finished first and last in this pack. "Go ahead and place this as Kotobuki due to bust, Tainaka, and Akiyama," she said.

"Yes, ma'am," the record-keeper said.

"Good work. Ohhhhh my." Ui watch Mio trip towards the finish before somersaulting five times, stopping her fall with her right hand in impressive fashion.

Ritsu's jaw dropped. She was right. "Mio did it."

Tsumugi looked at her, stunned. "What?"

"Holy cow," Jun deadpanned.

Azusa was beside herself. "Mio-sempai didn't just..."

"Oh no she didn't," Nodoka said, adjusting her shades in acknowledgement.

Yui gave a thumbs-up. "Oh yes she did!"

Ui placed a reassuring hand on her sister's shoulder. "You know, the gymnastics club would be creaming their leotards after seeing a super-sexy rollout like this. Hold on, let me go get her."

Mio watched Ui walk over to her as the others watched in amazement. "Eh? Owww!" A nice, hot slap in the buttocks. Sisterly. "What was that for?"

She struck a pose. "Nice work you did. You're gonna go far, kid!" Now for the signal. "Hey band!"

The marching band caught wind. "What's that noise, Ui!" they cried, a few drums ringing in the air.

Ui pointed to them. "Strike it up!"

With a cheer, the band played the Offspring's "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid."

"Did you guys want me to buy you some Gatorade or anything?" Ui said, pointing to the others. "One more for the road, dearest ones?"

"No, no, we're fine," Ritsu said.

"You can go grab one yourself," Tsumugi added. "Appreciate it, though."

"Ehhh? You snooze, you lose." And she went back to buy her third bottle. "I'll meet you guys in a bit. Be right back."

"You gotta love that Ui Hirasawa," said one of the freshmen to her friend.

A nod and a chuckle. "She's got class, and no one can take that away from her."

"And she's a champion as well."

"Amen. You speak the truth, classmate."

* * *

"News flash, amigas," Ui said, returning to the others as the band went on their run. "The Mio Fans club has just signed 50 new freshmen, according to our resident Miologist Yoko Sasaki. Just heard it right now."

"Why did you have to tell me that within earshot, you moron!" Mio said.

"Hey hey hey, now I didn't make this up, oh Woman of the Hour. You dazzled the students by tumbling for us a la Culture Club. I think you should do it every day."

"No, no, I don't think Mio would want to spin off her assets that way by rolling over," Ritsu said."

"Whatever, Ritsu," Mio pouted, "you don't speak for me!"

"Oh really, my love?"

"This oshiruko is good," Tsumugi said.

To put it quite frankly, Mio was so embarrassed by the whole fact that she tumbled her way to another part of her womanly charms that she didn't want any refreshments, only bland melancholy. She sighed, coming to terms with her actions. "I don't believe this."

Ritsu meant to find out. "Believe what?"

"I can't believe I did something like that."

"But you did it so well. And it seems I have now developed a psychic sense. I had a feeling this was going to happen, love."

"You were right. Guilty as charged."

"Are you all right?" Ui asked Mio.

"I'll be feeling this for a while. Now everybody will like me now."

"How do they like you now?"

"Oh quit it with the Toby Keith, will you!"

"We got our legs in shape," Mugi said. "Good marathon. And Ui here," she added, giving her a slap on the back, "won the race. So we can hang our laurels on that!"

"This wasn't gonna be close," Ritsu admitted.

"I think I could run another 40 if I wanted to," Ui said, "but I'd rather not."

Ritsu and Mio were taken aback. "The hell? Don't tell me that you are running this race as a warm-up for bigger ones up ahead!"

"I was only kidding. Mio-chan, Ricchan, the race is over. Time to discover brand new spaces. The race is over, now and forever, you gotta live it your way."

"Enough with the Dave Rodgers references," Ritsu groaned, "You like to drop those things, do you?"

"Yesh. I do."

Ritsu slapped her forehead in disgust. "Gaah. Ui is so friggin' fancy free! Happy-go-lucky! It's bloody ridiculous!"

Ui laid her back on the benches. "Hey Mio?"

"What?"

"You want my trophy?"

She was stunned at the gesture. "But...isn't that yours?"

"Yeah, but I want to give it to you, because you did something I could never do. Well I could, but not spontaneously like that."

"You won it, though. You should keep it."

"The first shall be last, and the last shall be first, so the Bible says." Ui rose up, took the plaque from her duffel, and handed it to Mio. "Congratulations, champ."

"Th...thank you."

"You forgot humble, Ricchan," Tsumugi reminded her.

"Oh dear God, I don't know what to think anymore!"

"By the way, you guys know where Miss Sawako is?" Ui, Mio and Ritsu looked at her with looks of shock.

Ui's words said it all. "Uh oh."

* * *

She was lonely, searching for nothing in the woods near Heartbreak Hill for the nearest restroom. Apparently Miss Sawako got sidetracked looking for a Port-O-Potty that she ended up walking in circles. Poor Miss Sawako, huffing and puffing for nothing.

"Where is the restroom?" she said to herself. Well, it sure was nowhere to be seen where she was standing. "I'm getting hungry..." A resident anteater walked by, minding its own business as the call of nature seemed imminent.

Lonely indeed. Poor, poor Miss Sawako.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 15**


	16. Let's Get It Up

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 16:**

**Let's Get It Up**

* * *

It was time for the girls of the girls' campus of Sakuragaoka High School to finally wear their iconic winter uniforms as autumn plodded its course. Maple leaves could be seen falling down on the city streets, and a cool rush of winds from the north began to blow through the skies. Men and women went through the daily grind, with goals to accomplish, dreams to attain, obligations to meet and exceed.

For Azusa Nakano, she had her own to-do list, a list she had in her head. She played it in her head. Twenty-four-seven, three hundred and five plus sixty. Azusa had her own ambitions, and wore her heart on her sleeve...and Muttan, her trusted Fender Mustang. As the incoming club president for next April, it was up to her to formulate this list of tasks and accomplish them—from examinations, to practice, to study sessions and learning new scores. It was a battle plan, the key to unlocking the enigma she called uncertainty.

"So here's the scoop," Ui Hirasawa said to Ritsu Tainaka, who was twirling one of her sticks idly. More of the water cooler conversations at the music room while Ton-chan floundered about to the strains of Shontelle's "Impossible." "One of the students at Class 3-1 is able to throw a potato 100 meters far."

"Are you just making this stuff up as one of your continuing series of 'Tall Tales of Sakuragaoka High', Ui?"

"No, actually, there's more to it. I got it from somebody in that class who told me about this earlier today, and then she introduced me to the student. She told me that the potato she threw went so far, from that end of the field to the other," Ui said, pointing, "that it went over the fence and into the neighbor's back yard."

"Get out of here! That's some arm!"

"Just a regular potato and she threw it that far."

"Amazing," Mio Akiyama said.

"Hope she didn't break her arm," Tsumugi Kotobuki added.

"No, she didn't," Ui replied, "and in fact, she told me she could throw five more if she wanted to, but she only had one." She turned to a frowning Azusa, deep in thought. Tsumugi had brought some interesting petit fours to go with the milk tea. "And how is my precious kitty cat doing? Feeling so fly like a G6 or is this piece of scrump-diddly-umptious heaven a touch too rich for you?"

Azusa pondered the question as she drank from her customary cup. "I don't get the Far East Movement reference, but yeah, the cake is beyond good."

"And it's not a lie."

"Oh shush with that, Ui-sempai." The others laughed. "I'd rather not have any of that cake, though." They looked at her with confused faces.

"Miss Sawako told us that she was going to be late for the meeting," Mugi explained, "so we want you to have the last piece."

"Right," Mio said, nodding to her. "Not gonna let that go to waste."

"Mugi-chan's right, Azunyan." Ui cracked open a book of facts concerning England's football teams. "Pop quiz, Ricchan: name Chelsea's team nickname."

Her reply was that of a bored lioness. "The Blues."

"Cheater! You peeked!"

"No, I don't even need that book to know that this Chelsea team is known as the Blues. Birmingham City and Manchester City also go by the same nickname, too. And the jersey color is a dead giveaway. Just like Liverpool and Manchester United are known as the Reds."

"Ricchan. Have you ever watched an EPL game in your life?"

"Only once, but it was actually the FA Cup Final a few months ago. I don't like Portsmouth. Let the poor bastards go into administration; who gives a rat's rear end about them?"

"Anyway, Azunyan," Ui said endearingly, "I know you want her portion. Just take it, my love. It waits for you to kiss it, like me."

Azusa groaned as she threw her head back in disgust, her eyes meeting the heavens. "You all are full of pie. I swear, man!"

She wagged a finger to correct her. "Non non non, cake, Azunyan, cake."

"Whatever, I'll go ahead and eat it. Sheesh, sempai. You make a fuss out of nothing."

Ui watch her take her time eating Sawako's dessert, a smile of bad intentions gracing her face. Just for added emphasis, Azusa licked the cream off the spoon in an inviting fashion. "Good girl. It suits you well."

She pointed. "By the way, there is something on your head."

Ui took it out. "Oh, this is just a stray heart sticker that Yui put on me because she thought I looked cute in it. Not sure why she wanted to do that, but oh well. To the bin it goes."

Nodoka Manabe walked over to meet with the team, holding a pink notebook. "Hello, all. Azusa, you forgot this." She noticed Azusa and Mugi fixing Ui's hair while the others looked on. "What are you guys doing?"

"I'm just fixing sempai's hair, that's all," she replied, her face turning blue as Ui giggled.

"Lovely. I'll just go ahead and lay this down on the seat. Take care." She walked off, adjusting her frames as she went down the stairs, perhaps to meet with the other Council members for the usual scuttlebutt. A certain school festival was on the cards, and preliminary plans were underway two floors down.

* * *

Back on the second floor and Class 2-1, Nodoka talked with Azusa and Yui Hirasawa about scribbling down a words-eyes view of an average club meeting up at home base. "I would like you to write down what the Light Music Club does during their daily meetings," she said. "I need this to evaluate any areas the club can improve on in terms of this and that when I join you folks next spring."

Outside in the hall, a group of students were doing the Madness strut as portrayed in their "One Step Beyond" video. "Oh, it's so nice to be with you, I love all the things you say and do," sang the group of lollygagging sophomores.

Azusa looked at her journal, twirling a pen before turning her attention back to Nodoka. "Hmmmm. No problem. I believe that if it's for a good cause, I'll do it for those who will be helping me out for the long haul."

"Wonderful, Azunyan," Yui said, playing solitaire on her iPod. "Let's see what you have."

"So it goes like this. From 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. we have the first part of the meeting, from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. we have our practice session and then 6:00 to 6:30 p.m. we have the second part of our meeting. During these meetings, we go over new song material if applicable, discuss any upcoming shows we have including the order of how we want to play them, and we also discuss other relevant issues over cake and tea, such as emceeing events and all that. Generally, we like to go over any new material during the first part of the meeting. That's a rule. We have a few more new songs that we plan to perform at the school festival, so stay tuned for that."

"You have two meetings in one day?" Nodoka asked.

"It's actually practice sandwiched in, so it's one."

"Oh."

"I like the sandwich onee-chan made for me!" Yui interjected in predictable off-topic fashion. "But yeah, that is one long meeting. I don't know if I will be able to take something like that."

She waved it off. "Yui, you will survive. But anyway, that is a lot of stuff you go over, Azusa."

"Sometimes it's a lot, sometimes it's a little; it varies, but we always, ALWAYS have something to go over at our meetings."

"Always, Azunyan?" Yui asked.

Azusa placed a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder. "Yes, Yui, always."

"Ehhhhh? That's amazing!"

"You know something?" Nodoka asked Azusa.

"What's that?"

"You've definitely changed."

She freaked out for a little bit, pouting. "Huh? Why do you ask that, cheerful?"

"This is not like you, Azusa. See, when me and Yui first met you in April—I'm talking about the previous April before the April of this year—we had the perception you were just a shy introvert that never wanted to take on a biggest role like club president. Unassuming, just someone going through the motions. Now fast forward to mid/late September, and wouldn't you know it: Azusa Nakano has matured into a star. The senior class is gonna be in good hands with you flying our colors for them next year."

"Nodoka...you're embarrassing me."

"Still being humble, huh?"

"I don't do this for fame or glory. I do this for the love of my club and my friends and my school, and nothing more. The attention I get is optional, but it's not like it will prepare me for the real world or something."

"No, whatever laurels you get, you need to build on it. I know that there are many famous people who graduated from her and the Boys Campus, and they built on the reputation they had as a student to get to where they are now. You can do the same thing!"

"Nodoka-chan is right, you know," Yui added. "Azunyan is one of the best at our school. No one can take your awesomeness away from you, Azunyan! Right?"

Azusa bowed her head in shame. "God dammit, you two."

Nodoka flipped open her mobile to check some Facebook messages. "Aside from that, the Student Council is preparing for the school festival as we speak." She noticed Azusa bent over, trembling, holding her pen in fear. "Azusa? Are you all right?"

"Guys, I can never keep my feet on the ground with you two around. I'm gonna have to hightail it here. See you all later."

Yui and Nodoka had disappointed looks on their faces as they saw her retreat upstairs. "Have a safe trip," Nodoka said.

Her friend could not hide her disappointment. "Azunyan..."

This was not part of the plan. At least Azusa saw it that way. While it was clear that she was doing well as the club president-to-be, she could not believe that she was desensitized to their pace. Everything was so routine to her: meeting part one, practice, meeting part two, departure into the night. 90 minutes of a different world, a different universe. Back on the second floor, it was all about classwork, exams, algebra this and grammar that. But one floor higher, she became a different person.

Azusa was a member of a band.

She was a guitarist for the light music club. She was a guitarist for the Hokago Tea Time group, a consortium of four seniors and a sophomore with a common purpose, a common bond, and a common goal. It was balancing these two beasts with the scales in her head that drove her to the point of flash delirium.

She looked up to the stairs, the pathway to the room where dream were forged with melodies and backbeats, and made her own declaration before going in. "Come back, dearest self of mine! Come back to me!" she cried, a fist piercing the air on high. A few students elected to applaud her second term resolution, while others looked on with confused glares. She blushed, realizing that declaring her intentions out loud wasn't the best idea. In addition, she was starting to act like the one member of the seniors she looked up to, as a lover and a friend: Ui.

Nonetheless, she soldiered on, committed to keep her own promise. "All right, let's roll baby! Oh yeah." Azusa made her way up the stairs and was about to open the door before she realized that she was emulating Ritsu's boundless spirit, the type of spirit that kept her drumming with ease.

Azusa closed the door and tried it again. "It's go time," she sighed. Then she realized that she was emulating Mio, someone who she also looked up to, though not as much as Ui.

Take three. "Shall we, ladies?" Mugi would say it in that matter. The keyboarding socialite and financial arm of the team. Too rich. Too pretentious. Too...unlike her. _C'est trop._

Closing the door again, Azusa searched in the back of her mind for the right profile, the right style, the right mentality that was a right fit. She wasn't going to lose out from being unimaginative in her entrance.

After thinking it over, she decided to just open it without saying anything. No nonsense. She was going to stick with that method for quite a while. "Nobody's here. That's a drag." The others were talking amongst themselves back in 3-2. Obviously.

Azusa walked over to the main table, and noticed something lying next to the piano. She looked over. Mugi was sleeping. In the end, there were exceptions. Most of the others were talking with the rest of Class 3-2.

Not Tsumugi Kotobuki. She took solace in this room, which was like a second bedroom to her...at least if one overlooks the fact that her main bedroom at the mansion has the same floor space as four music rooms. Donning her vest, she was clutching her bag, which had the purple trinket from Kyoto. She decided to trade the blue "I" for the purple "O" for good before seeing her, Ui and Ritsu off.

Azusa was stunned. "Mugi-sempai? What the hell is going on over here?" Apparently, Tsumugi didn't have enough sleep and was studying a little longer than expected back home. This was her way of catching up.

Suddenly, she woke up, eyes half open. "Hmmm? Who's there?"

"Mugi-sempai, it's me!"

"Oh my, I fell asleep without realizing it. Azusa-chan, good morning."

"Don't 'good morning' me! Did you stay up late or something?"

"I think I did. Sorry."

"You surprised me, Mugi-sempai. I can't believe it. Geez!"

Mugi was still in her blissful heaven, "The sunset makes this place all warm and comfy. Would you like to join me, sweet kitten?"

"Just for a little bit, all right." Azusa sighed, then decided to go ahead and lie next to her, placing her head on Mugi's lap.

Mugi took in the sunset that shined on both their faces. "You know something? I feel so wonderful when you are with me."

"You think so?"

"I wanted to stay here for a little bit longer to get my peace of mind together. Not just because I was short on sleep."

Azusa noticed Tsumugi brushing her twintails while twirling her side bangs a little. "Peace of mind?"

"Yeah, because when there is no one here, I can get away from the hustle and bustle of all the other things going on at school, as well as the club. This room is becoming my hideaway."

Azusa blushed and smiled. She liked Mugi's honesty and trust. "Mugi-sempai, I wanted to ask you this question."

"Hm?"

"Are you...a lesbian?"

"You're the first person to openly ask me that. Actually, I like girls and guys, but I've been around girls more often than not. I think people are charming in their own special way. Everyone is special. You are also, Azusa-chan. Mio-chan is. Ricchan is. Ui-chan and Yui-chan are. Even Miss Sawako. There are so many wonderful people that I have met, and I love them all."

"So you are bi-sexual?"

"Is that what it's called?"

"A bi-sexual is someone who likes girls and guys."

"Oh. I didn't know that. All right, you can call me that."

"Holy..."

As if unconsciously, their lips began to meet, and Azusa surrendered to Mugi's kisses that tasted like honey. It was a lovely consummation of friendship, but once Tsumugi explained her rationale, it all began to make sense. Azusa could not believe that it was this easy for her to be kissed and caressed by a sempai that meant well...and whose name wasn't Ui. Only Ui could make Azusa feel the way she does in terms of loving somebody. This was nothing more than a sign of friendship and gratitude.

Skinship. That was the word. And these fleeting minutes would be some of the best Tsumugi would ever experience, as her hands made their way around Azusa's body and vice versa. To consummate in a friendly way, under the Tokyo sunset, was worth every minute and every second. They went at it for about five minutes before they got back up and Mugi put her shoes and stockings on.

"Anyway," Azusa said, "What were you doing there?"

She was a captive senior. "I was hiding inside so I could surprise whoever came in. Like...'Boo!'" Azusa took note in her head of the premise. Mugi peered at the door. "I hope someone comes soon..." She hesitated a little, and then tried to scare her. "Boo! Boo!" Mugi said.

Azusa didn't understand why her sempai was bothering. "You can't surprise me after you already told me, you know."

Mugi put her index fingers together, whimpering. "Drat."

She had to play along. "Aaaaah, you scared me!" Too late.

Tsumugi decided to work on her element of surprise a little bit more, rising from behind the sofa. "Boo!"

Azusa took a look at Ton-chan. "Mugi-sempai, are the others coming later today?"

"They're assigned with cleaning the classroom today, so they'll be heading up here shortly."

"I see."

Mugi continued to work on her element of surprise as Azusa internalized a rarity. It wasn't very often that it was just her and Mugi together in the room doing literally nothing but time-passing. She didn't know whether to treasure it or not. Azusa went with her heart, going for the former.

"I wonder if I can pull this off on Ricchan and the others," Mugi said, devious as ever. Azusa looked at her, who looked back, before the twin-tailed kouhai turned away. She was embarrassed, because it was a totally new situation for her. To be with someone so rich and refined and graceful as Tsumugi Kotobuki...it made her heart race.

"M...Maybe I should practice my guitar," Azusa said.

"Okay, I'll get the tea ready."

With a sigh, Azusa took Muttan out of its case. As she got set up, the signs of uncertainty were posting in her head as the news traveled quickly in the back of her mind. She liked Mugi just as much as she liked Ui. Big, pretty blue eyes...very fair skin...lips of a movie star...blonde hair...and a wonderful body worthy of royalty...and oh, those crazy eyebrows! This wasn't anything scripted; it was God-given.

Azusa noticed Mugi next to her, looking at her guitar. "Don't squat so close to me!"

"Eh? But don't you like my company, Azusa-chan?" Mugi said, turning to her. "I know you do. That is one beautiful guitar. Did I do anything wrong?"

"No, not really."

"Good. I'm glad." Azusa took notice of her smile. It radiated like the sun. It was beaming. "Anyway, Azusa-chan, is the guitar difficult to play?"

"It is if it's your first time playing it," she said. "But do you want to give it a try?"

"Eh, can I? Sure! Thank you!" Here she goes again, trying new things. It was a hard habit to break. Azusa smiled, appreciative of Mugi's willingness to broaden her horizons.

Mugi looked at the guitar she was holding, and then turned to Azusa, who was impressed. "You can actually hold it normally," the twin-tailed kouhai said.

"I can? Oh."

"Can you lift your hair for a bit? Sorry."

"Eh? What is it?"

"I have to put this strap around you."

"Oh, okay." Mugi was naturally nervous. She was hoping the strap didn't get in the way of her hair.

"Here, you wear the strap like this." Azusa placed it across her shoulder.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Thanks. Wow, I feel even more awesome already. Ricchan did this before, didn't she?"

"She did, but it was with Ui-sempai's guitar."

Mugi looked at herself in the mirror. "Wh...What do you think? Does it look good on me?"

Azusa took a gander. "You look great with it on. Don't they have a hybrid of a keyboard and a guitar available?"

She blushed. "A keytar. I love those instruments. The next time we go to 10GIA, I want to buy one of those for our next show."

Azusa noticed some stickers on the wall. "Someone put stickers here?" It had to be Ui, via Yui.

"Azusa-chan..."

"Huh?"

She gave Muttan back. "Thanks a lot."

"So you're not going to play it, huh?" Azusa was a bit disappointed as a bed of sweat came down her head.

"Eh?" She forgot that she wanted to try it out. "Oops."

* * *

Tsumugi took her time learning the chords, the jist of the jazz, the nuances, nooks and crannies of learning a six-stringed instrument. It was a change. "The next chord is a little bit difficult," Azusa said, pointing out the progressions in the manner of a tutor. "Most new players have trouble with the F chord at first."

She gave it a few strums after positioning her fingers right. "How about this? Good?"

"Yep, that should do it. All right, go ahead."

"Ready and...!" A strum. "Ready and...!" Another strum. And another, and another.

"No, you have to do it continuously, and softly," Azusa replied. "Don't damage my strings while you're at it." But in her head, she applauded Mugi's commitment and spirit. Her strings would survive.

Time for some tea. Mugi handed Azusa her personal cup, filled to the brim, piping hot. "Here you go."

"Thanks." A sip. And Ton-chan continued his daily swim.

"I realized that playing guitar sure is difficult."

Another sip. "Everybody has their own skill sets, and everyone is different. I can't do the keyboards as well as you do, and you can't do the guitar as well as me and Ui do. But the important thing is that when we perform, we complement each other. You need to take your time when playing a new instrument, though."

"I see. That's cause I've been playing the piano since I was young and I practice on it at home every day. We have a tutor who comes by the mansion every now and then, and she kept on telling me that my fingers would forget the movements if I didn't practice."

"You can say the same thing for the guitar, too. Or the drums or bass. Repetition is key."

"I know, right?"

"Right."

But Azusa wanted to ask Tsumugi a question about Mugi's history with the club. Why did she want to join this club? She would be more fit to join either the school choir—which was the club she originally intended to join—or the orchestra. Tsumugi Kotobuki, given her upbringing, was better fit for classical music—that of the cultured and the well-to-do. This was something Azusa never gave a heart-to-heart talk to Mugi about. Why did she want to join the light music club?

Mugi noticed Azusa looking at her and was startled. "Is there something wrong? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, Mugi-sempai, you...actually, you have some cream on your cheek."

"Hold still." Azusa licked it off before wiping the spot clean with her napkin.

"Oh my," Mugi said with a moan, her face as red as a rose. No one in the school ever did something as courageous as that. Azusa was the first. She could feel a wet spot underneath her skirt. "Oh my, oh my. You must have caught me eating some cake while no one else was looking."

Azusa blinked. "So, you've been..."

Her blush of guilt was red like wine. "Occasionally, I have." They were irresistible, those pastries the chefs made at home. It was an awkward situation. Azusa tried her best not to laugh out loud, stifling the guffaws as Mugi looked away with a blank stare on her face. It was too funny a situation for Azusa to internalize. Tsumugi eating desserts while no one else was looking? Even cultured girls have their own vices. Nobody was perfect, not even those with affluent influence.

But Azusa was also laughing at the fact that she was spending so much time with Mugi. It was just an unusual feeling. Here they were: a commoner and a bourgeoisie. A twintailed student living life out of the ordinary juxtaposed with someone who has it made and would be set for the next few decades. The Princess and the Pauperette. What was that all about, pray tell; it's a mismatch!

For a few fleeting moments, even Tsumugi was noticing why Azusa was laughing so much. They both laughed. They knew the situation, and they soaked it all up.

The door slowly opened. Tsumugi and Azusa saw the others fall in with them.

"Ui, don't push, all right?" Ritsu said.

"Fine, fine."

"Quiet, both of you!" Mio said.

"What are you guys doing over there?" Azusa asked, coming over to the entrance. She opened the door, and watched Mio fall on top of Ritsu, who fell on top of Ui. "What are you guys doing; this is no time for an orgy, let's go!"

Ui had her reservations. "Azunyan, we were just about to..."

"Right, right, we've heard all of that before. Let's get going."

"Anyway," Ritsu said, "you and Mugi make an interesting pair."

"Whatever the hell do you mean by that? You idiots didn't see us make out, did you?"

"We did."

Azusa threw her hands in the air, exasperated by the lack of privacy. "Dammit! My bad luck continues!" Azusa had to frown. Skinship camaraderie. Violated.

As Ui and Mio placed their guitars next to Azusa's, the meeting could now begin in earnest. It was 4:30 p.m. Japan Standard Time after all, so it began right on schedule. "Cupcakes," Ui said savoring dessert. "The world loves them, and so do I. If I had it my way, you know that I'd make it say 'Oooooohhhh...' Like that."

"Enough of the 3OH3 reference," Mio said.

"Anyway, Mugi-chan, this cake rocks!"

"Like it? It's an honor," she replied. "Hold on for a bit. I got something for everybody." She went to her book bag to procure some items.

"Let's see what this is, Ricchan."

Ritsu took a sip from her cup. "Yes, let's! Hold on a minute." She pointed something out. "What is this star doing on my cup?" Yui knew how to pull the puppet strings in the background at times.

Azusa knew something was up as Ritsu looked on, bemused as ever. "Ui-sempai, have you been placing stickers up and down and all around the music room?" She meant to find out. There was a sticker on her cup as well. Hearts. Stars. Clovers. Diamonds. Maybe an ace of spades was lying near Ton-chan's tank, and nobody seemed to notice just yet.

"I can neither confirm nor deny that, Azunyan. I wanted to give the place a change of scenery, just to add to the decor."

"I think it looks tacky."

"No it's not."

"And you can't deface school property like this," Azusa said as Ritsu chuckled.

"Boo. Party foul, party foul."

Tsumugi returned with a sheet. "Here you go everyone. I wrote a new song for the school festival." The song: Diary wa Fortissimo.

"All right. That's Tsumugi Kotobuki, dearest ladies. Always finding something to do."

"So that's what she lost sleep over," Azusa said to herself.

"Not bad stuff, Mugi," Mio said.

Ritsu was eager. "Rock on, we want to hear it."

Ui handed Mugi a sticker. "Take it, my dear! You earned it!"

"Oh, thank you."

Azusa met up with Nodoka and Yui back at 2-1 the next day over lunch bought from the co-op and brought from home. Sandwiches, bento, donuts, cookies, the usuals. "So here's the deal," Yui said, snacking on her box. "Onee-chan is really committed to a lot of things. When she gets going, she gets going, and it's almost surreal. And she's using the stickers I gave her!"

"Not surprising. And I noticed that there is a sophisticated, cute charm to Mugi-sempai as well," Nodoka added.

"Right," Azusa concurred. "She also has a mysterious side to her. It adds to her personality."

"I was amazed that she was able to find solitude sleeping inside the music room without anyone else noticing. Generally, the room is off limits if there is no one, but when the door is open, she just lies next to a piano and sleeps. I would love to do that as well. Just once, though."

"Once for you will do."

"It's so amazing that Mugi-chan is able to take care of a lot of people even though she comes from a very rich family," Yui said. "If you guys had a club treasurer, she would be the one by default."

"I think so, too. when she prepares our tea and snacks, I notice there is a spring in her step because she feels like she belongs with us. It's wonderful. It's devotion."

Yui popped a takoyaki ball into her mouth. "And you look forward to her tea and snacks every time you have a meeting," Nodoka noted, sipping some juice.

Too flattering. "N...not really!" It was humbling for Azusa to appreciate partaking in those guilty pleasures out loud.

"Note that I was only teasing you when I said that. But I can't believe that Mugi-sempai decided to do some snacking while no one else was looking yesterday."

"I know, right?" They all laughed. "It's crazy. I mean, save your snacks for the others; no need to be greedy. I swear, man!" As they were laughing, Azusa gasped and realized that she didn't come to the music room to see the cute side of Tsumugi Kotobuki. It was nice and everything, but it didn't need to be the focal point.

As Azusa made her way up the stairs after lunch, she made a brave attempt to clear her head of all the confusion she placed on herself. "Today, for sure...I will bring myself back!" she said, her fist piercing the air. She was emulating Ui again. "No, that's not going to work." She opened the door.

"Do you need something?" Mio asked, working on Elizabeth.

"Mio-sempai! Fancy you being here."

"And what is this about something not going to work?"

"It's nothing, nothing." A predictable face-saving save. Um, no one is here yet?"

"They're busy with class duties again. I didn't need to show up, so I am here."

Azusa paused for a moment. She wanted to get this right, unlike the last time around. "Mio-sempai, shall we go ahead and practice?"

"No problem. Just give me a few more minutes to restring my bass here."

"Got it!"

Azusa beamed. She had high praise for Mio's work ethic and unconditional dedication to putting on a solid performance. Not even a simple upskirt could stop her from being the woman Mio Akiyama was. In a way, Mio was like an older sister to her. They weren't bound by blood, but their hair and similar personalities made it look like they were sisters to a degree.

Mio applied some orange oil to give her bass a shine while adding some new D'Addario EXL 160M nickel-wound strings. Now that she applied the strings on, she tuned them to the right acoustics. E, A, D, G. That's how the strings were supposed to be tuned to. She noticed Azusa peering close, and a sweatdrop came down. "Is there something wrong, Azusa?"

"Eh? No, not really." She was just watching Mio tune her bass, that's all. But the way she did it was something professionals do in their sleep.

"Really?"

"But of course! Anyway, what songs do you think we should play for the school festival?"

"Let's see. Well, we got a long list of songs to choose from. Mugi's new song will be on that list."

"I would like us to do a ballad."

She warmed up to it. "That's a great idea. You know, I've always wanted to do ballads." Of all the members of the band that knew how to get the job done, Azusa would definitely confide her trust in Mio. The whole band placed her trust in one of the most popular students on campus to get the job done. "All right, it's settled. When they return, let's tell them that we're going to perform a ballad for the show."

"All right!" Azusa was fired up.

Mio was as well. "A ballad...that sounds so fantastic..."

"Please come back, oh precious self of mine!" Azusa said to herself. Her heart was starting to race a little, and the excitement was proving difficult to contain.

"Did you say something?"

Azusa was startled. "Eh? What? Um...no!"

"Okay then."

"Of course!" It was another precarious situation for her as Mio continued to tune her bass. "It feels like we're really in a light music club, with clouds outside and perfect weather."

"I suppose so. The afternoon is a wonderful thing. That's why we are known as Hokago Tea Time." Mio never expected Azusa to be this bubbly. "But this is the real thing, though." A little pluck of the strings, and Elizabeth was back to normal. "All systems go, Azusa."

"All systems go, huh? Good! I'll go get the tea ready!" Azusa forgot about the practice.

"Um, that's Mugi's job, and aren't we supposed to be practicing? You said so, right?"

Azusa blinked. She couldn't believe what she just said. She was still in her state of flash delirium. Get over yourself, Azusa! There is no need for you to do something that you don't do anyway!

The beads of sweat came down her face as she froze. Her own sense of self did not come back just yet. "What the hell did I just say, Mio-sempai? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"I guess, since everyone is not here yet, we can have some tea early."

"I didn't mean it."

"Oh, but if you want tea..."

"I didn't mean it! It was a slip of the tongue!"

Mio was confused. "But..."

In came Ritsu. "Hello there!"

"Ritsu, hello. Don't scare me like that. Is there something wrong?"

"Oh hell no! Azusa, what the hell are you doing raping my Mio!"

She was up in arms. "Your Mio? Nobody ever told me this was your Mio! And I wasn't even raping her, what are you talking about? You lesbo freak!"

"Hello, my Azunyan!" Ui said.

Mugi was looking at the whole scene, "Azusa-chan, you and Mio-chan could be sisters if you wanted to!"

Azusa threw her arms up in frustration. "Ohhhh hell. It begins again!"

Ritsu was still in tears, "Mio!" She ran to her, clutching her tight. "Mio my love, please help me with my home economics homework!"

"Home economics, Ritsu? Hold on, we actually had homework in class down there?"

"Word in the hall, ahem," Ui said, "is that Ricchan can't sew her skirt out of a wet paper bag."

"So that's it."

"Ui, don't rub it in, you rat!" Ritsu shot back.

"I will help Yui with hers as well, but not you because you don't matter in this instance."

"As if I really need your help."

"Hoity toity..."

"Sewing is easy for you, isn't it?" Mio said to Ui as Ritsu pouted with a blush through her tears of anguish.

"But this time, it's with a sewing machine," Ritsu said. "I'm not good with machinery, my love. That's why I want you to help me."

Mio patted her head. "Oh Ritsu, you're so impossible at times. Fine, I'll help you out." Azusa looked on at the sight, recognizing how strong of a pair Mio and Ritsu were. A drum and bass combination. Mio turned to Azusa. "Homework always has a higher priority than club activities, first and foremost."

"Ricchan, I'll help you out," Tsumugi said, to Azusa's shock.

"It's settled," Ui said. "We're all going to Ricchan's house to fix her skirt. And I'm bringing Yui with me so that she can learn as well! How about it, Azunyan?"

"The heck? What...what about practice?"

"Thanks, you guys!" Ritsu said, her arms rising to the heavens. "Hallelujah for wonderful girls like those from this school's light music club!"

Azusa was visibly irritated. The plans for the school festival concert were thrown a monkey wrench because one of the members couldn't do something she could do easily. "You're not coming with us, Azusa?" Mio asked her.

"Oh bloody hell! Curse you all!" She stormed out of the room, knowing that she was going to have a tough go at finding her niche again.

* * *

The afternoon came, and the club meeting was cut short. Azusa was personally disappointed that she chose to swallow her pride in a manner like the Ramones and tag along with the other slackers in her light music clique. She raised her head, throwing it to the sky, wishing she was back at home, sulking in her self-imposed misery. Azusa's lips formed a pout of boredom as she neared the Tainaka residence.

The callback. "Yo Azusa, what are you doing down there; come on over, hurry!" Ritsu hollered from inside.

"On my way! Sheesh...excuse me," she said, taking off her shoes, putting some green slippers on.

"Hey, nee-chan," Satoshi Tainaka said, walking over to Ritsu and the crew. "Bring the laundry inside if you're done drying them. Hmmm? Who are you guys?"

"What's up, Satoshi?" Mio said.

Ui, Tsumugi and Azusa were equally impressed by his cuteness. "He looks awesome," Ui said.

"Definitely," Mugi added.

"I have to catch my breath," Azusa added.

"These are my friends from the Light Music Club, Satoshi," Ritsu said to him. "And we even brought a neighbor, a sister of one of the members." That was Yui.

"Hello!" the others said with a cheer.

"Hello everyone," he said with a bow. "I'm Ritsu's younger brother, Satoshi. A pleasure to meet you all." He then closed the door and went back to some more yard work.

"Shy, isn't he?" Ui said.

Ritsu nodded. "I have to instill confidence in him when he's around girls."

"Ah-hah. Is that why you're a tomboy?"

She wagged her finger. "No. That, my dear Ui, is a totally different subject altogether. Ladies, I believe that our Satoshi here is going through the rebellious stage in his life, which is a period of withdrawal from falling in line with the rest of modern-day society."

"Know-it-all."

"I only know what I know, and I know it because I am his older sister."

"Professor Ricchan, ladies."

Upstairs in Ritsu's bedroom, Ui helped fix Ritsu's pink pleated skirt along with Mio and Mugi. Yui and Azusa observed. "You are a natural at this, aren't you?" Mio asked her.

"Been doing this every now and then. At home, we have a sewing machine just like this," Ui said.

"Onee-chan always likes to sew everything for me," Yui added.

"She does, huh?" Mugi asked her.

"Every time. I can't even touch the machine without Ui assisting me because I might hurt myself."

The older sister rolled her eyes for a bit. "Oh shush, Yui; you're embarrassing me here."

Azusa admired the skill of the three of them, working together to help one of their fellow seniors out. It wasn't often that she got to see something like this. They could have made it a straightforward deal and let Ritsu fend for herself. But no, they weren't going to do that. They were close-knit, this club was, and the thread was never—in any way—going to be broken. Not now, not ever.

She turned and saw Ritsu's drumsticks lying next to her, lying on top of a pile of food magazines, curry being an example. One thing that Azusa didn't know about Ritsu was that she could cook. Though it wasn't as good as Ui's, she fixed her own meals for her and Satoshi, and she did it out of love and affinity. It was a redeeming characteristic. Ritsu Tainaka wasn't just a bumbling slacker who didn't take her work seriously. There was also something about her that made her stand out. Plus, she was the current club president and it was her job to prepare Azusa to fill in her shoes.

Yui handed Azusa a makeup box. "Azunyan, here you go."

"What's this?"

"You left this in the clubroom yesterday. Onee told me to give it back to you."

"Thanks." She was surprised that she decorated the box with stickers: four hearts, a cat face and a name: Nakano Azunyan. Customized against her own will. Clever. "Can I take these stickers off?"

"Ehhh? But these look cute! You're no fun, Azunyan."

"Yui, if Azunyan doesn't want them," Ui replied, "let her take it off. Besides, aren't you the one giving me all these stickers?"

"Yeah, but onee-chan, you like them too."

"That's beside the point, though."

"I believe this is finished," Mio said, taking a look at the skirt.

Mugi gave a thumbs-up, licking her lips. "Looks nice."

"That was quick," Yui said.

"As long as I'm helping out, it will always be quick," Ui added, puffing her chest.

"Onee-chan the Great! Hail!"

Tsumugi put her hands together in applause, laughing. "Mio-chan and Ui-chan are naturals at this."

"We try," Mio replied. "Wait, do you guys know where Ritsu went?"

"That's right; she didn't head upstairs with us. Maybe she's helping Satoshi-kun out."

"I gotta head to the restroom," Azusa said. "Excuse me."

"Where are you going again?" Ui asked.

"Downstairs. The restroom. Be right back."

"You know where it is, right?" Mio asked her.

"By the door."

"Good girl. See you."

As Azusa opened the door, she saw Satoshi. "Hi there."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't know you guys were here!" he said, clasping his hands together.

"What's up, Satoshi?" Mio said to him.

"Nee-chan told me to come get you."

"Oh boy. Thanks. Let's see what Ritsu wants this time."

"There's dinner on the table."

"Cool. Let's roll. Downstairs, guys."

On the house was some Salisbury steak garnished with broccoli and carrots, greens salad, potato salad and pickled vegetables, and the customary miso soup and tea. "Not bad, not bad," Ui said at the Tainaka living room. "I am impressed by your culinary savvy, Ricchan."

"You like that, eh?" Ritsu said. "I always like to make my own meals when I get the chance, which is most of the time. And then I always prepare Satoshi's lunch every day. It's a common habit."

"High-five?"

"Yes." And there went the exchange.

"So you and I got something in common, Ricchan. We love to cook just as much as we love to play."

"But Ritsu here," Mio reminded the crew, "isn't spontaneous when it comes to studying."

"Well, that's where the similarities end, Mio."

Ritsu blushed. "Oh shut up, Mio! You didn't have to make it so obvious!"

"Obviously."

"Nee-chan, I notice every time your friend comes here, she gives you headbumps because you've been slacking on your studies," Satoshi said.

"Fine. Guilty as charged."

"But this food is good," Tsumugi added. "Thanks for the food."

"Very nice," Azusa added after returning from the restroom. "Thank you."

"You are welcome, Mugi, Azusa," Ritsu said, flipping the channel to some local sports news. "It's the least I can do for my fellow members. You guys are part of my family as well, so I am doing this for you. When you help me with my homework, I pay you back in full. That's what we're all about. We're all part of the same of the same family, though we're from different walks of life. Right.

"Right," the others said.

Satoshi was moved. "Nee-chan, so now I have six sisters?"

Ritsu ruffled his head a little as he worked on his dinner. "Maybe you can put it that way."

"A harem...heh heh...like Happy Lesson or Sister Princess..."

"I wouldn't go there yet, sunshine." The others laughed as they took their seats and dug right in. "I think we have everything. Mio, got your tea?"

"Yes, I do."

Azusa had to ask something through her blushes. Such courage from a humble cat. "Ritsu-sempai!"

She sipped her iced tea as Ui peered over with an interested look on her face. "What's up, Azusa? Are you missing something from the table, sweetie?"

"No, that's not it, it's just..."

She had to say it. But what did want she want to say? She wanted to ask so many things. She wanted to bring back her own style and way of getting it done. She wanted to bring her sanity back. But Azusa's fear of being embarrassed made it difficult for her to say anything out loud. Beads of sweat were coming down her face. This was becoming more and more uncomfortable.

The club could have been preparing for the school festival, going over musical notations, lyrics...practice, for crying out loud! Instead—because the club president wouldn't touch a sewing machine with a ten-foot pole—they end up doing some home economics work and are treated to some good eating. Azusa didn't know what to think anymore. Somehow, this didn't seem right, but at the same time...it was a perfect diversion. Too perfect. Perfect as perfect can be. And Ritsu could definitely cook. If Ritsu were to have her own family, Azusa thought, with Mio doing the sewing and Ritsu doing the cooking, they would be set if they mated. It was bloody ridiculous.

So many thoughts and uncertainties raced through Azusa's head. This felt so wrong, but it felt so right. And if it felt so right, why would it feel so wrong? Was her mind getting warped again into a world that lacked originality. What the heck was going on with this whole picture? That's what Azusa thought.

At last, she broke the silence. "It's just that I saw something that shouldn't be lying next to the dinner table." It was a couple of shirts, pink and black boxers, and towels.

Ritsu jumped up and took them. "Apologies, all; those are my dad's."

"Sorry for pointing it out." The others blushed, embarrassed themselves.

"So your dad wears pink boxers, eh Ricchan?" Ui said with a laugh, working on her dinner. "Does he work as a playboy at the strip club?"

"Here we go," Satoshi said, popping a piece of steak into his mouth.

Yui's ears perked up. "He does? We have a playboy in the house that turns tricks for over-30 women?"

The girl with the headband was a defiant devil. "I refuse to disclose, Ui! And quit mentioning his kinky knick-knacks!"

"Ritsu, why the hell does your dad wear those types of shorts?" Mio asked her. "It's disgusting. Perverted, even."

"How should I know? Have you even asked him?"

"Those look cute," Mugi said. "I think my dad should wear those, it would look nice on him."

Ui looked on with a disgusted look. "You think? Now I don't know Mr. Kotobuki, but I don't think he would approve of such déclassé garbage as that. That's just me, though; don't take my word for it." Azusa regretted the fact that she pointed out the pile of laundry.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to put Dad's laundry away," an embarrassed Ritsu said after putting it in her dad's bedroom.

"I fear for my life now," Mio deadpanned.

"You'll survive, Mio. He's a cool dad. Don't worry. This is on me for focusing too much on serving up dinner and forgetting about putting away the laundry. Anyway, let's try this again. I always like to say a prayer before we eat." The six of them (Satoshi finished early and retired to his room) placed their hands together. "Thank you, Lord, for the food we are about to eat. Watch over us, and take of us, Amen."

"Bon appetit!" they all said, and they all dug right in.

"Mmm, this hamburger is good," Azusa said, savoring her steak while Ui and Yui got to work on their rice bowls.

"The rice is really good, too," Yui said. There was an affinity between the Hirasawa sisters and rice bowls. It's this affinity and fascination that would form the basis for a song called "Gohan wa Okazu." Rice As A Side Dish. A paddied salute to the constituents of the everyday common man in Japan. So the story goes, on a digression. 1, 2, 3, 4, go-ha-n.

"Glad you liked it. Hey, look at that touchdown," Ritsu said, seeing some NFL highlights on her HDTV. "Man, that guy can catch."

"Sheer acrobatics," Mugi remarked. "Is that how they do it in America?"

"For the most part. The wide receiver position requires speed, strength, good hands, and a good vertical leap. If you don't have those attributes, you won't last as a receiver in a league as competitive as the NFL."

"I know Japan has its own league, right?"

"Yeah, but they are semi-pro players. They are not as good as the guys in America. They get paid a lot of money to perform at a high level. That's why you see their names at sports stores across the country: Brady, Manning, Tomlinson, Sanchez, Roethlisberger...and the list goes on and on."

"What's your favorite cheerleader outfit?"

"Dallas Cowboys. Always a classic. And for the colleges in America, Oregon's looks nosebleed-worthy."

"Ricchan is such a sports nut, no?" Yui asked Ui.

"Sure is."

"Aside from that...we got one of the best rice cookers in the neighborhood right in the kitchen, and the family takes pride in it," Ritsu boasted.

"You really love rice, don't you?" Mio said.

"As a proper Japanese person should."

Azusa took a sip of her soup. "Rice is definitely an amazing thing," Ui said. "At home, we do make room for toast in the morning."

"I like mine's with strawberry jam!" Yui added.

"What do I usually have for my meals?" Azusa asked herself.

"Ui, Yui, you fools! Quit being dishonest with yourself!" Ritsu pontificated. "If you claim to be Japanese, you have to eat rice!"

"I like to diversify my diet," said Ui, who chose to work on her dinner again.

"Who's your favorite NFL team?" Mio asked Ritsu.

"So many good sides. I like the Raiders, but I don't think they are going to have a good year..." They continued to talk about sports and school over Salisbury steak.

Back at Class 2-1, it was all laughs. "I see," Nodoka said. "So you only ended up visiting Ritsu-sempai's house."

"We had a blast," Yui added. "Ritsu-sempai can cook! She had some really good food."

"It was delicious. But it wasn't just that," Azusa replied, trying to correct the accusations. "We also helped her out with her homework."

"What was it?" Nodoka asked her.

"Fixing a skirt."

"So she can't do it herself, huh?"

"Nope."

A nod. "What a shame."

"If she knew how to do it herself, we would have been practicing upstairs yesterday! We cut the meeting short."

"But it was all for a reason. I think it's not a bad thing to have a change of pace one in a while."

"Think so, Nodoka?"

"Nodoka-chan is right," Yui added. "You need to have a change of pace at times. Variety is the spice of life, I think."

Azusa was stunned as she left the room. "Oh my god," she thought. "We're in trouble because we always have a change of pace." Now she was in a state of emergency. "Today, for, for, for sure! Come back, oh precious self of mine!" she proclaimed, raising her fist in the air. But Azusa was starting to lose confidence in herself, and it was a frustrating experience.

"The third time's the charm!" She opened the door. She noticed that Ui was watching Ton-chan. "Ui-sempai."

"Oh, it's you, Azunyan."

"Hello." She walked over. "So no one is here yet?"

"Clean-up duty, I believe."

"I see. What are you doing?"

"Watching Ton-chan do his thing."

"Oh." Azusa had to take the lead this time around. "We'll definitely practice today, for sure!"

"Before you do," Ui said, "can you come take a look at this? Ton-chan's aquarium is..."

"Hmmm?"

"I think we have to clean it."

"Right. I'll go get the hose." She went over to the storage room to procure the materials needed to clean Ton-chan's tank." As she turned around, she froze and beads of sweat came down Azusa's face. She realized that she would be following Ui-sempai's pace again. They needed to practice. They just had to! Azusa believed they will as Ton-chan looked over.

In the end, they ended up cleaning Ton-chan's tank. The turtle watched as Ui and Azusa took off their jackets, rolled up their sleeves, removed the water and scrubbed the glass. "This is for Ton-chan," Ui sang. "This one's for you. This is for Ton-chan, we will be true. When you're not here with us, we're blue. Oh Ton-chan we love you!"

"Quit being in a singsong mode and clean this thing properly, will you?" Azusa said, annoyed by Ui's fancy-free mentality.

"Awwww, all right." She couldn't help it, though. "This is for Ton-chan, this's one for you..."

"Ui-sempai! Quit it, all right! Mou!"

"Eheheheh...I just like singing while I'm working. Azunyan-sempai is really laying down the law."

"So I'm the sempai now, huh? Stay away from the hair spray..."

"Right."

"By the way, should we peel off the stickers on the mirror while we're at it?"

"Yui's not going to be happy when she hears this. This was all for Azunyan's sake..."

"I know, but please, let's leave the mirror the way it is and take them off."

Azusa and Ui hosed in some new water from the sink and placed Ton-chan inside as the tank brought in some air. "Done and done!" Azusa said, tossing her sponge in the bucket, washing her hands.

Ui dried her hands before putting her arms around Azusa. "Well done, my little kitten. I think he loves it."

"You like it, Ton-chan?"

The turtle nodded, as if to say, "You bet I do! Cheers!"

Ui nibbled her hair for a bit as she hugged Azusa tight. "You smell so good. You really like Ton-chan, don't you?"

"Not as much as you, Ui-sempai."

At that moment, Azusa found her back against the wall, trapped in Ui's kisses. Their hands were caressing one another, and Azusa began to mew a little as she felt Ui's hand go up her shirt to fondle her cleavage. It was still flat, but it was filling up. And their tongues were doing a tango as Azusa wrapped her legs around Ui's. It wasn't long before they were down on the ground, hugging and kissing, Azusa wondered why she was spending so much time with Ton-chan, but it got blocked away by Yui stroking the spot underneath her skirt, eliciting a moan. Her breathing was hitched, and so was Yui's as she felt her breasts being fondled in the same manner. The hands were going places. The tongues were going places. And their thirst for lust was going places it had never been before—all while Ton-chan was looking. Azusa wanted more of Ui's love. She wanted it. She wanted it all as she climaxed because spending these moments with Ui meant so much.

After 20 minutes had passed, Azusa got back to her senses amid soiled clothes, open shirts, and lots of sweat. "Sh...shall we practice?" She asked Ui, still breathing heavily.

"All right. Oh, I realized that there is something about Mugi-chan's song that I wanted to ask you."

Azusa was stunned as they both cleaned themselves up. "Huh?"

"You know about her song she brought the other day?"

"What about it?"

"This seems to be a difficult one to play at first."

"Oh, you mean the guitar solo, right? No problem, I can do that."

"Great. But I meant that it would be a difficult one for Yui because she doesn't know how to read this."

Azusa fell over. "What does Yui have to with the discussion here?"

"It's called a 'What Would Yui Do?' scenario, Azunyan."

"Oh, not this again." Ui couldn't help it. Really, she couldn't.

* * *

Ui set a box of writing utensils and a pen on the table as she went over the score. "After the third time, you jump over here," Azusa said to her. "After dal segno, you jump to this star symbol. Then you end here, where it says 'Fine'. Got it?"

"Hmmm. Looks good."

"It can be difficult to remember all of this, but knowing you, it won't be that hard to remember, right?"

"I think I can get this down. It would be great if they were all in Japanese, without some Italian words mixed here and there."

"Hmmm?"

"For example, 'Forte' means loud, so it should be written as such. And "Fortissimo" should be 'super loud', exclamation point. Get what I'm saying?"

"I know, but there is a style when composing scores. There are differing tempos and volumes, and they are generally written in Italian because it's been that way for centuries."

"You're right, you're right."

"By the way, when you say, 'make it sound pretty' at the end of the song, that's 'fermata.'"

"Is that so? I'll make note of it."

Azusa's face preached indifference. "I'm sure you will." The two of them continued to glance over the score.

Another autumn afternoon continued to chart its course over the Tokyo skies. Ritsu was busy going through a late tutoring session because she was behind on her academic work. Meanwhile, Mio was looking at some news for upcoming campus events while Tsumugi procured some textbooks between the classes and the teachers' office. As for Ui, she stretched her arms toward the sky.

"Looks like the guys are late today," she said to Azusa.

"They are, aren't they?"

She pouted. "Mugi was supposed to bring the tea, but couldn't come."

"I know. A shame." A flock of pigeons cruised by the campus in a V formation. Azusa got back to her senses as the sweat came down her face once more. This was becoming a cycle. "W...We can't sit around like this!"

"Huh?"

"We have to practice! We really have to practice today! It's because of this that we really aren't that good! Practice, practice, practice! Come on!"

Ui tilted her head to the side. "Azunyan? What's gotten into you today? You seem to be really fired up."

Azusa blinked, trying to gain her sanity back with her back to Ui. "Eh?" Was she ever going to get it back? "N...Not really. I'm fine as always, without any problems."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I am! Well, I think...this is more like my true self." An insecure kouhai looking to find her own pace, her own style, embarrassed to follow the trends of her sempai. Azusa looked around here and there as she elected to be honest with herself, catching up with her own racing thoughts. "I've been too relaxed lately. Or slacking. Yeah, that's more like it. Yes, this is what's I'm really like!" She'd lost it.

"I see, Azunyan." Ui crossed her arms, taking stock in the info. "You spend a lot of time think about yourself. I've never spent that much time thinking that much about you, even though I'm in love with you."

"Eh?" Her heart began to skip a beat.

"Because here's the thing...you're just Azunyan. And you're amazing just the way you are."

"You just had to add the Bruno Mars reference in, huh?"

"But it's true. Ricchan is Ricchan, Mio-chan is Mi-chan and Mugi-chan is Mugi-chan. You are Azunyan, and no one can take that away from you." Azusa looked at her with amazed eyes. Such honest words from an honest sempai. This was why she looked up to Ui the most. Ui could be honest with Azusa and herself without feeling guilty about it. "And that's the first time I've thought about it this way."

Inside the tank, Ton-chan was floundering about, happy as ever.

"I would like to eat Mugi-chan's cake so bad," Ui said. "I'm hungry."

"We'll do it after we practice," Azusa said.

"But you were on my case when we were going over the fortissimo part."

"I know, but let's get going and practice!" And so they did. For once. There would be no meeting that day.

The next day, Azusa met up with Nodoka and Yui back at Class 3-2. "I see, so you and Ui-sempai are getting along very well," Nodoka said, flipping through her personal planner. Yui was tearing through a sandwich.

Azusa nodded. "We are...but I was there to practice!"

"I think you and Ui make a wonderful pair."

Azusa placed her fingers together, her lips pursed. "Well...yeah, we are."

Yui clapped her hands and pumped her fists. "I knew it! Onee-chan and Azunyan sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G..."

"Oh hush, will you!"

"Teheh."

One of the students from Class 2-2 walked over. "Is Azusa-chan around?"

"Yes, is there something for me?" she asked at the entrance.

"Here you go." It was her "Bu" trinket. "This is yours, right?" She left it in her room.

Azusa went over to look at her bag. "No way! I must have dropped it at the room yesterday!"

"Is it yours?" the student asked.

"Yes it is. Thanks!"

"All right." As the student left, Azusa placed the trinket back on.

"How did she know?" Azusa asked herself. The student must have been assigned by either Miss Sawako or one of her sempai to bring it downstairs.

Nodoka and Yui came over. "What was that all about?" Nodoka asked.

She held up the trinket, which had another cat sticker, and her nickname: Nakano Azunyan. Ui customized it again. "It was just..."

Yui took a look, and gave a thumbs up as she looked at the ceiling. "Good work, onee-chan!"

* * *

Preparations for the seniors began in earnest as the final push towards the college admissions exams began. Everyone know where they wanted to go, and they stopped at nothing to get it done. Every day was a battle, and every year was a war. High School, three wars: the Freshman War, the Sophomore Struggle, and Operation Senior Class. The hopes were high, the stakes were raised, and the emotions never felt so pronounced.

This was the point in the year where the senior class shined. This was the point in the year where trails were blazed and where they reached a crossroads in their educational career. This was it, and the seniors feasted on the opportunity that awaited them.

And every club got ready for the upcoming school festival that awaited them: from the art club, to the theater club, the track and field teams, to the judo and tea ceremony club, to the organizations of the Boys' Campus...every club and every part of the Sakuragaoka community was excited for this one shining moment. One could just feel the energy fueling this school, and it was a youthful vibration. The memories they would have as students of this school would linger for decades to come.

As for Azusa Nakano, she walked down the hall, and a confident swagger and spring could be seen in her step. Her "Bu" charm—shining in aqua green, her favorite color—was the fifth symbol in "Keion-bu", and it indicated that she was the fifth member of the revived Light Music Club, the Hokago Tea Time group. Azusa kept in mind that the last shall be first, and though she was the fifth member, next spring she would be class president.

"Hey, you guys," Azusa said, opening the door, where the others were waiting. Crème brulee was on the house.

Ui heralded her arrival. "There she is. The great Azunyan."

"Please, I haven't reached the ranks of the Almighty just yet." They laughed.

"But you already have in my mind..."

"Oh, you! Mou!"

"I'm glad you were able to find it," Tsumugi said upstairs to Azusa. "Your keychain."

"Yep. That I did. And thanks, Ui-sempai."

She gave Azusa a kiss. "You got it. Anything to help my baby out."

"I said my lady, lady, lady, it's your love that I want..." Ritsu said.

"Oh, quiet you," Mio said. "Cut it out with the Lahaina Grown!"

"Anyway, now that we're all here," Ui said, "we can finally get down to business. Let's get it up, right now!"

"Killer song!" Ritsu pointed out. "Killer, killer song."

"And we can call this pudding fermata as well," Ui added. "How about it."

"You're letting the Italian get to your head. That's not how you apply it, though," Azusa replied, sipping from her personalized cup.

"Here, Azusa," Mugi said, handing her an extra cup of crème brulee decked with chocolate, white chocolate, raspberries and strawberry ice cream.

"Eh?" "Miss Sawako couldn't come today."

"Uh...but...are you sure?"

"Yeah, go for it."

"But this happened the last time, though."

"It has your name on it," Ritsu said.

"Eh?"

The drummer was so nonchalant as she savored her brulee. She pointing to her cup as if to say, "Take a look underneath, love."

Azusa took a look underneath. Her sticker. Nakano Azunyan. She turned to Ui, bewildered.

"These stickers are awesome, aren't they?" she said.

"When you eat a lot, you grow a lot. Hirasawa family precept number 858."

Azusa decided that it made no sense to pursue the issue further. She was beaming, because she realized that she didn't need to find her peace of mind. Azusa's peace of mind found her. "Can I peel it off?" she asked.

"Uh, uh, uh, Azunyan," Ui said, wagging a finger. "No, you can't." Well, Azusa had to pout.

* * *

The goings on of campus life and the ways of the world continued at Sakuragaoka High School, a place to learn, grow and prosper.

Back at Class 2-1, it was time for another job inventory. "All right ladies," said the class president, "please decide your preferred role by next week."

Yui and Nodoka walked over to Azusa, who was glancing over her sheet. "Azunyan."

"What's up, Yui?"

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm asking that same question."

"I'd like to be a secretary or an executive," Nodoka said. "Either that or a librarian. I could do those jobs."

Yui was impressed. "You already got it made, huh, Nodoka-chan?"

"What about you?"

"I have no idea. Actually, I don't know how to fill this one out!"

Azusa groaned. "I figured you wouldn't."

"Can you help me, Azunyan."

"Do it yourself."

Yui held Azunyan tight! "Azunyan, have a heart! I love you."

"God, you're so pathetic. Get off me, you." She did, to Yui's disappointment. "Anyway, do you plan to wear thick frames if you decide to be a librarian?"

"Actually," Nodoka said, "I like my glasses the way they are."

"Eh? But don't librarians wear thick glasses?"

"Only on TV."

"But it's a common trope, and I would think that it would be common in every library for a librarian to wear thick glasses that are so big it might fall off their face. Then they would be seen as a klutz. Some even wear cat ears."

"Ehhhh?" Yui was captivated. "I wanna wear thick glasses and cat ears, too! Thank you Azunyan; I'm gonna put 'a klutz with thick glasses and cat ears' as my profession!"

The others looked at Azusa with interested faces. Azusa's face was red as a rose after realizing that she had a slip of the tongue again. "Oh hell no, what did I just say...?"

"That's definitely typical of the Light Music Club for you," Nodoka said.

Azusa was sweating from head to toe. She was sweating from head to toe. And she had to get away. Oh mercy sakes, did she ever! Her own self and sanity escaped her yet again, making a mad dash for a certain room on the third floor, where their book bags were lying on the bench. The right-most bag with the green trinket tipped over toward that with the pink as a sign that things were coming around.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 16**


	17. Rock And Roll Damnation

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 17:**

**Rock And Roll Damnation

* * *

**

Somehow, the autumn wind told of a bad moon rising high above the heavens that watched over Sakuragaoka High School. They told of trouble. They told of changes. They told of adjustments that needed to be made, because it wasn't the news that the light music club wanted to hear. The momentum this organization accumulated would be put to the test.

The bust of the school's founder watched the leaves turn into vibrant bursts of yellow under afternoon skies. Another perfect day. Meanwhile, a group of electricians and plumbers from the city helped fix the lighting and retrofitted a few additional rooms for good measure.

"Hey, Ui," Ritsu Tainaka said to her guitaring peer, "we're gonna go practice, all right? We'll see you upstairs."

"I'll be there in a bit," Ui Hirasawa replied.

She turned to Jun Suzuki with a vigor. "Looks like somebody is fired up," Jun said to her.

"School festival, Jun. One of the high points of the year. And we are getting close to it. How can you not be fired up for this one?"

"Well, try not to get so fired up and catch a cold like you did last year."

"That's on me though," Ui said, pointing to herself. "I hung around Ricchan too long because she had a cold before I did. By the way, I have been fueling up on oranges and vitamin pills as a safe precaution." She held her hands out. "Look my hands. They are yellow like lemons."

"Oooookay..."

"I'm just teasing with you. Later, Jun-chan."

She took off. "Godspeed, Ui."

Finally, she rejoined Ritsu, Tsumugi Kotobuki and Mio Akiyama. Azusa Nakano would be on her way soon. "Hey guys, how are y'all doing?"

"We're good," Mio said. "You ready?"

"Let's go!"

"Off to the clubroom, then," Ritsu said.

Miss Sawako Yamanaka fell in with them. "There's some news regarding the clubroom."

"Miss Sawako, how are you," Ui said. "What news?"

"Unfortunately you can't use it for a while."

"Say what?" Ritsu asked.

"The clubroom."

"What?" they all asked. Bam! The news came at them like a runaway freight train.

Ui was disgusted. "The hell? Why do you say that?"

* * *

The music room was among the room going through structural improvements as well, according to Ui, who was reading a notice on the door. "She's right, you know," Ui said to the crew in sheer disbelief. "The music room is unavailable, too."

"Told you," Miss Sawako replied. "As you can see, I am a teacher of my word."

"Holy shit, what the fuck is going on here?" Ritsu screamed, enraged.

"According to reports from other staff at the school," Sawako explained, "the sound of something dripping was being heard from an empty classroom late last night."

Mio blinked in fear as her pupils contracted. Ui wondered what was wrong with her as she turned to Miss Sawako. "I'm fine," the bassist said in her dishonest reassurance. "Please go on."

"So, as they were trying to figure out what was making all that noise, they looked inside...and they found water leaking from the ceiling! Therefore, they are doing this to fix the leak."

Mio covered her ears and cowered in fear. Ritsu was not amused.

"And that was the classroom directly below us. The utility crew is going to redo the plumbing down here but the pipes are below the clubroom. That's why the music room is closed," Sawako said as a couple more utility men surveyed the ceilings of the floor in question.

"Rats," Ui said. "Well this is definitely going to force a change in our plans."

Ritsu pondered the situation, stroking her chin. "To happen now, at this point in the year...it's the worst timing possible."

Mugi was equally inconsolable. "The school festival is less than a month away, Miss Sawako. We don't have anywhere on campus to practice!"

This was, without a doubt, the club's biggest challenge to date.

* * *

Sawako pointed to some equipment lying at the door. "Before the utility team got to work on fixing the room, I brought the instruments out here for you, as well as your turtle." The good thing for the turtle was that the tank had a device that temporarily provided oxygen while it was in a bucket. It was part of the whole package bought over the summer.

"Pig-nosed turtle, Miss Sawako," Ui corrected her. "And his name is Ton-chan."

Azusa finally rejoined the crew. "Hey there, Azusa," Ritsu said.

"What's going on? The room got shut down for some reason?" She noticed the turtle floating in the blue bucket. "Ton-chan!" Azusa went over to her turtle kouhai. "What the heck is going on here? Can somebody fill me in?"

Mugi did. "Azusa-chan, apparently we can't use the club room because the utility people are redoing the school's plumbing system."

"The heck?" She couldn't believe it.

"Basically, we can't have our tea time!" Ui added. "It's postponed until further notice."

"You didn't have to put it that way, you smart-alecky freak!" Mio retorted, exasperated with Ui's sleazebag remark.

Sawako looked at a notice that was given to her by the utility company. "According to the schedule I have here...it's going to take about 10 days before it's finished. Less than two weeks."

"So you mean to tell me that we won't be able to practice in that clubroom for that amount of time?"

"Precisely."

"Oh boy. We're in for it now."

"Ladies, I think it's time for Plan B. We can always find an alternate location to do our thing; no problem, right?"

"Hmmm," Sawako thought. "Do you ladies want me to go ahead and ask if we can use the second music room, which is used by the Wind Ensemble, Marching Band and Chorus? As you should know, and I also the faculty supervisor/advisor for the Wind Ensemble."

"Please do so!" Ritsu exclaimed with a bow. "Thank you!"

* * *

Time passed as Miss Sawako consulted the ensemble and a few other teachers regarding the use of the room. The girls sat on the stairs as if they were just waiting, just waiting for the world to end. Maybe the world really was ending before their very eyes.

"I got a question, guys," Ui asked the crew. "Is the world ending yet?"

"Why do you ask that?" asks Ritsu.

"We're seeing all these different wars going on in different places—people dying in the streets, kids struggling to find food to eat, open gunfire in Iraq and Afghanistan..."

"But we're still here."

"True. I would also like to see what the room looks like inside."

"Shall we take a peek?" Tsumugi asked her.

"Don't do it," Mio said as Ui was about to approach the door.

Miss Sawako returned. "There you are, Miss Sawako," Azusa said.

"Any news, Miss Sawako?" Ui asked, pursuing the issue.

She was catching her breath. "Well, I talked with the folks, and I couldn't get the room, sorry."

"So much for you being helpful," Ritsu replied with a straight face.

"Sorry, sorry."

Ui crossed her arms. "So now I need to know...just where exactly are we going to practice."

Sawako stroked her chin. "Hmmm, let's see..." Where would they go? "I know: how about your classroom?" Class 3-2.

"So you're practicing here, huh?" asked Nobuyo Nakajima to the five of them. "Interesting."

"Yes, Nakajima, they are," Sawako said to the others.

"We got no place else to go, to be honest with you," Ui said, shrugging her shoulder.

"Do excuse our intrusion," Azusa said, trying to be humble as ever.

"Remember," Sawako reminded them, "too much noise will bother the other classes down the hall, so ease up, all right?"

"Yes, ma'am," they all said.

"Have fun, and I'll see you later." Sawako took off, leaving the club and some spectators to themselves.

"Azunyan," Ui said to her, "this is our classroom, so take it easy, and relax when you play."

Azusa was embarrassed. "But still..."

"Don't take your shoes off," Mio said in disgust, watching Ritsu take the concept of "relax" too figuratively. "This isn't a house."

"Right on, sister!" Ritsu said with a wink, striking a pose with her drumsticks. The others laughed. "Thank you. Let's do this, eh!" Before they were about to practice, the students watching were applauding. "Let us start this, uh, impromptu meeting with a little 'Curry over Rice'. Ready? 1, 2, 1-2!"

A couple of students could not believe the noise that was coming from Class 3-2 and had to plug their ears. "What could that be?" Jun asked, in the middle of writing some documents with the others from the Student Council. "Oh, it's them."

* * *

_"I might be irresistibly in love with you, Bubbly Wobbly_

_This hungry feeling won't stop, Dizzy Giddy_

_Please!_

_A piping hot plate of curry_

_Give me a stimulating spoonful of spices_

_Instead of sweet, today will be medium-spicy_

_For a mature flavor_

_Meat, vegetables and a secret special seasoning_

_A growing child's greed awakening love_

_I love you!_

_Simmering well-made curry_

_Let's try two spoonfuls of spices_

_But keep it limited; it's no good if it's too spicy_

_Tingly, Fiery, Spicy_

_Oh… No no no no no no…!_

_Just a tiny bit of curry and a lot of rice_

_When you're not here it's lonely at the table_

_Someday we'll be on good terms with you on my silver spoon_

_Sorry!_

_Curry without roux;_

_Girls like sweet curry_

_I long for you but mildly-spicy is too much_

_I love you!_

_Simmering well-made curry_

_Let's try two spoonfuls of spices_

_But keep it limited; it's no good if it's too spicy_

_Tingly, Fiery, Spicy_

_Oh… No no no no no no…!_

_Just a tiny bit of curry and a lot of rice!"_

* * *

When they finished, the students were applauding. "That is awesome!" Nobuyo said.

Fumie Kimura was equally captive. "Cool! You rock, you girls."

"We try," Ui said. "Thank you."

The door opened. "Um, excuse me..."

"Yes? Yes?"

It was a couple of members from one of the other clubs on campus. "We're trying to discuss our plan for the school festival," she said.

"That's what she said," replied her friend, "and your music is a little bit..."

Mio gasped. She was in shock. "We're sorry!"

"Were we a bit too loud?" Ritsu said, equally distraught.

"Sorry, you guys," Ui added, also embarrassed. "This isn't generally where we practice anyway; the room we use has been closed off."

"No, we should apologize as well," said one of the students at the door before closing it.

Ui turned to the others. "Well, what should we do guys?"

"I think we need to find another place," Ritsu said. "We're not gonna be able to play at full power if we use a room like this."

The search continued as the band placed their materials on traveling racks. "Hey Azunyan," Ui said.

"Yep?"

She noticed the turtle on one of the racks, as well as the tank. "I think we need to leave Ton-chan in this classroom."

"You're right." She pushed the rack back in the corner. The turtle continued to swim, as if to think, "How many more days, dear girls, until I get to see my beloved music room again?"

The club was on the move. "Sometimes I feel I've got to, unh, unh, run away," Ui sang. "I've got to, unh, unh, get away from the pain you drive into the heart of me..."

"What's with the Soft Cell?' Mio asked.

"One of the best one-hit wonders of Generation X." Back to singing, "Don't touch me please, I cannot stand the way you tease. I love you though you hurt me so. Now I'm gonna pack my things and go!"

Mio sighed as they took the elevator down to the gymnasium. The school's gymnastics club was practicing some baton twirling and balance beam acts, while Eri Taki and the rest of the volleyball club was working on their hitting. "Nice hit," said one of the members on the team. They were in the league season and were at the top of the table.

The light music club savored the spectacle. "Excuse me Ichigo," Ui asked gymnastics club president and fellow Class 3-2 classmate Ichigo Wakaouji, "after you guys are done, can we use this area?"

"I think you shouldn't have any problems," she said in her trademark monotone pitch. "It might be a bit cramped, but you shouldn't have any problems."

"Thanks, Ichigo."

"Anytime." Little did Ichigo know that she was going to regret that decision.

"Have mercy, Miss Percy," Ritsu said, soothing her shoulder. "Hauling the instruments down to the gymnasium really did a job on me. Man, this kills."

"I wanna carry some more!" Tsumugi said.

She looked over and smiled. "We know, Mugi. We know."

"Well guys, let's get started," Mio said to them.

Ui concurred. "Mmm-hmmm, mmm-hmmm, let's!" She and Azusa both nodded.

* * *

"You know something," Azusa said to the others, watching the gymnastics and volleyball. "We kind of feel out of place."

"Well, these are a few of the sports teams that we have at this school," Ui said. "Some of the best athletes in the area go to the Boys Campus and here at the Girls' Campus."

"The epitome of awesome," Ritsu said, watching them play with Mugi. "Love the mechanics. All right, let's do it." A countdown of the sticks. "One, two, one two!"

But before the band got underway with "Curry over Rice," Mio was watching the volleyball team practice, and was into it. The others saw Mio unleash the sports animal in her. "Yes, yes!"

Ui had to knock her back to her senses. "Um, Mio?"

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

"Friggin' sports nut," Ritsu said.

"Let's try this again," Ui added.

Now the volleyball team was in the thick of it. "Fight-o, fight-o!" they said, firing each other up.

"I think they're gonna do well," Azusa said.

"We need to take a page out of their playbook and play with that same mentality," Ui said, fist in the air.

"Come again?"

"Something like, 'Keion, fight-o!' Like that."

Tsumugi heard her loud and clear. "All right, got it. Keion, fight-o!"

So did Ritsu. "Oh yeah, that's the spirit! One, two!" But before she could count them down, Ichigo played a tape to get the baton twirlers on the gymnastics team prepared for a meet later on. Ritsu groaned in disbelief.

"Ladies, ladies, you're not together," Ichigo said to the twirlers. "You need to be in sync with each other."

"It's kind of hard to focus out here," Ui said, turning to the others.

Back to Class 3-2 to draw up a new plan. "So the news has come from other sources and the council,"

Ritsu said as Ui drank another bottle of Gatorade. "The Drama Club is using the auditorium, and the Poetry Club is using the roof."

"So you guys decided to come back here?" Miss Sawako asked them.

"Apparently, we did," Ui said. "Hey, Azunyan?"

"Yes?"

She pointed to the chair in front of her. "This is Jun-chan's seat, so feel free to use it."

"Oh, thank you." She took a seat.

"I realized that the light music club," Ui noticed, "is like Sugoroku." A board game similar to either backgammon or snakes and ladders.

"How so?" Mio asked her.

"We came back to the starting point!"

"The starting point?" Azusa said.

"Precisely, Azunyan. The start."

"Quit it with your nonsense again, Ui-sempai."

"Oh dear Lord," Mio said with a groan, sweating.

"Ui's got a point," Tsumugi said. "We were wandered for a while."

Sawako sighed. "Well, whatever. I'll see if I can find a place for you to practice. You guys need to go home, so we'll talk more about this tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am," they all said. There wasn't anything they could do at that point, One day down, nine more to go.

* * *

From the middle of the stairs, the band looked at the room, and the off-limits notice, coming to terms with the changes that needed to be made. It was only temporary, but for an organization that wasn't used to this, it would feel like eternity.

"Guys, I hope we'll be able to settle somewhere tomorrow," Tsumugi said with a yawn. "What do you guys think?"

"The one-million yen question, brought to you by Miss Tsumugi Kotobuki," Ritsu said.

"I think we can trust Miss Sawako," Mio said to Mugi.

Azusa frowned. "We couldn't..."

Ui interjected. "We couldn't eat any sweets today. We know."

"What the fuck, you're still talking about that? That wasn't what I was trying to say? I was saying that we couldn't get our practice done today!"

"I was only kidding, Azunyan."

"The hell you were! Mou!"

"By the way, Mio," Ritsu asked the others as they changed their shoes, "did you finish the lyrics yet?"

Ui was similarly interested. "I would like to know, too."

"Nope, still writing them," Mio said.

"That's what she said," Ritsu added, bemused.

Azusa's ears perked. "We have lyrics for a new song?"

"No, we have Mugi's new song, but aside from that..." Aside from what?

"I wrote the lyrics for it, by the way," Mio replied, setting the record straight. "However, Ritsu rejected them."

Azusa was confused. "Eh?"

"We'll give you the four-one-one when we head down there."

By "there," Mio meant Max Burger, the usual stomping grounds after their meetings. The five members passed by tourists visiting town, locals chatting over coffee and cigars, dogs and cats walking about on leashes and kids listening to ORICON chart-toppers on their stylized iPods. Such a mix, such a mix.

The girls ordered #1—Max Burger, regular fries and coke—all on the house. Ritsu gave Azusa a paper folded in fours. "So, Azusa, you were asking why these lyrics didn't cut the mustard, according to yours truly. Take a read and see if you understand."

"Okay." She took the paper as Ui sipped her Coke.

A flock of sparrows crossed the pastel-colored Tokyo skies as if it was on assignment to hunt by nightfall. Azusa read the words, blushing as she went along. "In a sweet-scented forest, I chat with little birds..."

"These lyrics are good," Ui said to Ritsu, "what are you talking about? Tasty, even!"

"I have more on the way," Mio added.

A sheepish Ritsu rested her head on her right hand, bored by the enthusiasm. "Like what, love?"

"Color my love in black and white, like a panda bear."

"Gracious!"

"Or even, 'Dance, dance, dance with little penguins.'"

"Enough! Enough! This is just as bad as the Clippers beating the Lakers on a frequent basis."

"So what's with the animal theme?" Ui asked her.

"The problem here, Ui, is that all the songs Mio writes up to this point suck to high heaven when animals are involved. That's the thing."

"Is that so, Ricchan?" Ui stroked her chin. "Hmmm."

Mio, naturally, had more in store, but her face turned blue and depressed. "I want to be tricked, like by a raccoon dog...Abduct me, mandrill..." Well, Ritsu did have a point regarding Mio's obsession with bestiality.

Tsumugi wanted to change the mood. "Okay then, how about we all write some lyrics?"

"About bloody time," Ritsu replied.

Mio took great umbrage in the snub. "Oh, so my words have been totally rejected?"

"We'll use them as a backup." Naturally, Mio did not like the sound of that. Ritsu turned to the others. "Your assignment, gang: Write up some lyrics to share with everybody tomorrow. Got it?"

They were in agreeance. "Right!"

"Roger that, Mr. President!" Ui said with a salute.

"So I'm going to be writing lyrics as well?" Azusa said, stunned by the news. "Hmmm..."

"Personally, I am looking forward to yours," Tsumugi replied, bubbly as always.

"Man, I am so fired up, you guys," Ui said, pumping a fist. "I've got the magic in me, every time I touch that track, it turns into gold!"

"Everybody wants some presto magic, magic, magic!"

"And so it's settled." She raised her fist to the sky. "Here we go!"

"Quit it with the BoB reference," Ritsu said to the two of them, sipping her Coke.

"I wonder what I should name this song. Ideas, ideas?"

"You're on your own there, partner."

"Oh, how mean of you."

Azusa can't believe that her beloved sempai had it the process in reverse. "And you're starting with the title?"

"Yeah. Ha! I got an idea!" She took out a protractor. "How about the 'Protractor Blues'?"

"Or even 'The Bag Bang Boogie (All Night Long)'?" Ritsu added, flaunting her book bag, replete with her "Ke" charm.

Azusa threw her hands in the air. "Freaks!" A mom drove down the road in a minivan with six kids outside the restaurant as the afternoon turned into evening. "Let's be serious about this, dammit!" They would be on it for a while.

* * *

The next day, the girls reported to Miss Sawako's office to get the latest on the situation regarding the need for a room. "All right ladies," she said, "I looked at all the different options...but unfortunately I couldn't find anywhere for your guys to practice."

"That's not good," Ui said to the others, grimacing.

"Easy for you to say, Sawachan," Ritsu groaned.

"Hey," the teacher replied in her rebuttal, "I did all I could, you know. You should at least be thankful."

"How can we be thankful if you can't get us a room to use? There is no point, Sawachan."

"See, here's the thing. I asked if you could use the Jazz Club's room, but they said no. I also looked at the sciences room, the home ec room, the conference room, the principal's office and all the other rooms possible, but those were unavailable. It's amazing how my heels could wear out so much in one say," she pouted.

"Still though...it's garbage to know that a club with such a high reputation as us is getting shafted by the bureaucracy that is continually destroying a school like this."

"You have to give her credit for trying, Ricchan," Ui replied. "You don't script those types of things. Miss Sawako, you did so much for us. Thank you."

"Thanks for your hard work, even though it didn't work out," Mio added.

"Anytime," she replied.

"I guess in that case," Ritsu said as they all turned to her, "should we just hold off on rehearsing altogether until we can use the clubroom again?"

"I don't think that would be a good idea," Mio said. "The school festival is right around the corner, and it's really important that we are ready, even though we won't have a room to use."

Sawako was also in deep thought. The alternatives were becoming limited. They couldn't use any of the rooms on campus, but they needed somewhere to practice as a club. Something had to be done, or the team was going to be in pretty poor shape heading into the School Festival. "How about we try a rental studio?"

Ui and Tsumugi were stunned. "A rental studio?"

"Interesting," Ui said, pumping her fists, enthused. "It sounds good. Let's do this!"

"But won't this be expensive?" Azusa asked the others.

"No worries, Azusa," Ritsu said with a wink. "Remembers, we have a budget surplus, therefore we can use the money for a rental studio."

Ui nodded. "Ricchan knows all."

"Hey, I only know what I know."

"Can I hug you?"

"Uh, sure..."

Incoming. "Mmmm, you smell so nice."

Her embrace caused her to come up for air. "Quiet you. Mercy, I can't breathe." But the point was made, and the point was clear. They could put their trust in Ritsu Tainaka. She was the club president, after all.

* * *

Ui retired to her bed, and meditated for 10 minutes, a pen and paper by her side. Eventually, she was inspired to write one spontaneously. Going downstairs, she decided to cook some dinner for herself. Ui took a look at the rice cooker and the plethora of rice bowls in the kitchen.

"That's it!" she said to herself. "I think I have it! Here we go!" Ui quickly scarfed down her food, cleaned up, took one of the bowls and a pair of chopsticks to the bedroom and got to work composing a song she called "Gohan wa Okazu." Rice is a Side Dish.

* * *

The following day, the band went to a rental studio five kilometers from the school. What was convenient about their part of Tokyo was that all the resources the band needed were within walking distance, and if they needed to take the bus, they could without paying too much. "Convenience, convenience, convenience," Ui said to the others, snacking on some potato chips as they were walking. "You gotta love this town and the resources we have."

Ritsu concurred. "Tokyo is a wonderful place to live, to grow, to play music and to produce it. And the great thing about all this, Ui, is that you don't have to go far to find it."

"Find what?"

"The resources. What you were saying."

"I know. I was only kidding."

"Oh, you!" she snarled.

Azusa pointed to the building. "There it is."

The PAC Studio was where a number of emerging artists got their first break. From JPop, to JRock and rap, many famous faces got their first break at the PAC. Indeed, the studio earned awards for the quality of its equipment and production, and its owner was well-known in the city.

"Take a look at these," Ui said to Azusa as they took a look at the materials: plectrums, cables, jacks, batteries and other necessities. "They got it all, from picks to cables! Miss Sawako really got us a good place to do our thing."

"Mmmmm, impressive. They do have it all."

"You must be the group Miss Yamanaka was talking about," the owner said, heading down to meet with the girls.

Mio was slightly startled. "Oh, hello."

"Greetings. My name is Hiro Arai, the owner of the PAC Studio. Welcome. Go ahead and write your names and addresses on this sheet of paper and we'll get you started."

"Thank you," Ritsu said. "Here, Mio, write yours."

"Uh, since you're the president, YOU write it."

"Eh, but my handwriting is bad news, love!" She slumped over. "Damn, I can never win a battle with you."

"Don't worry," said Mr. Arai, "I will be able to read it."

Ritsu scribbled it down. "Easy for you to say."

Mugi was fascinated by the lights and the decor of the place. "Amazing..."

"By the way," Mr. Arai added, "we ask our first-time customers to show a proper ID."

"ID?" Ritsu asked.

"I will identify her," Ui said, her hands on Ritsu's shoulders. "She is Ritsu Tainaka, our band's leader and president of the Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus Light Music Club! Wow that was a mouthful."

"I think Mr. Arai meant your school IDs," Mio said to both of them.

She whipped out her card. "I know, I was only kidding."

Ritsu was embarrassed. "Oh yeah, I forgot." That she did.

* * *

Tsumugi looked at a bulletin board that had flyers occupying nearly every corner and space. "It seems that there are a lot of groups looking for new members," she said to Ui, who was also scanning the board.

"The music scene out here is alive and well. Fantastic. That gives me an idea. I think we should post a flyer for new members as well."

"Great idea. Love it."

"I don't think that's gonna happen," Ritsu said as she opened the studio door.

"Come on," Mio said, "let's head inside."

"Once more into the breach," Ui added as the five of them walked inside the room. "Excuse our intrusion..." They were in awe at the equipment available. A special drum set was provided for Ritsu, which was essentially the same set, but with a black-colored theme. Also, a keyboard for Mugi was made available.

"Whoa' Ui remarked. "This is...so...so...smaller that I would think would define a rental studio in my mind, but that's just me."

"Quit being so picky, you little punk!" Mio and Ritsu shot back, shocked by the remark.

"I knew you were a pair the moment I saw both of y'all. Cha-ching!" Ui walked over to a mirror in the studio. "So we have a mirror here? Not bad, I say, not bad. Now we can see ourselves play." She turned to the others, with Mugi looking at herself in the mirror. "Hey, I wanted to ask you this question before we rock the afternoon away: have we been confined to a Rock & Roll Damnation or something?"

"Yes, we are," Ritsu replied.

"Didn't you notice that by the time we came in here?" Mio added.

"I see," Ui said. "Now it all makes sense. Duh-duh-duh-duuuuuuh...Duh-duh-duh-duuuuuuh..." That song was going to be in her head for quite some time.

* * *

Eventually, the band got their instruments ready. "I'm going to break out my ribbon again," Ui said, taking off her hairclips and tying her hair back for once in her old hairdo. "It's been awhile since I wore my old hairdo, but I wanted to try it out. What do you think? Should I keep it or not?"

"I'm a lighthouse," Ritsu said, brushing her hair with her hand as Mio drank a bottle of water. "Your call."

"I'll keep it. Then when we're done, it's back to the clips."

"Again, your call."

Mio then fixed her collar as Azusa fixed her twin tails and Tsumugi fixed the usual green tea in the back. Ritsu and Ui looked at each other. "You know something?"

"What's that, Ui?"

"Seems to me we can't help ourselves when we have such a large mirror as this, can we? What do you think?"

"No, we can't," Ritsu squealed. "It's because we're girls, right?"

"You got a point, both of you," Azusa added. "Then we can also see how we look as we perform, so it does have its benefits."

"Absolutely," Mio said.

"Tea's ready, girls," Mugi said, presenting a tray.

Ritsu was surprised. "What? I meant, All right! That's what I was trying to say."

"So that's why you were looking for an extra plug," Mio said.

Mugi nodded. "Exactly." There was one, next to the main subwoofer, and this allowed her to use a hot water heater.

The door opened, and Mr. Arai entered the room. "Excuse me ladies, sorry to bother you, but we don't allow food or drink inside the studio."

"Sorry about that," Azusa replied. "We'll put aside our instruments and bring our drinks outside."

"No problem."

"Sorry," Ui and Ritsu said, bowing.

As Mr. Arai left, Ui was a little bit stunned. "Did you see that? I mean, *it's as if he was watching us all this time."

"He's over there," Mio said, pointing to the video surveillance camera which was connected to the control room.

"I see. Hello world!" Ui said, waving to the camera. Mr. Arai waved back.

"So what should I do with these?" Mugi said to Ritsu frowning at the cups of tea.

"I think we should drink them outside." Well that was a no-brainer.

* * *

Mugi brought the tea and cream buns to the lounge, where the members placed their book bags. They left their instruments back at the studio, where they would be untouched for about 30 minutes or so.

"Take a chance, while you still got a choice," Ui sang, sipping her green tea.

"Still singing that AC/DC again, huh?" Ritsu said to her. "Guess it can't be helped."

Mio was exasperated. "Look Ui, we didn't come to this studio to chill out and relax. We mean business, okay? So after we eat and drink, we gotta go back there, and do our thing. You hear me?"

"Loud and clear, VP!" Ui said with a salute.

"Okay, with that said, we can take a look at our new lyrics," Ritsu added.

Azusa was stunned. She forgot to write hers. "Dammit..."

"Let's see, who should start." Ritsu looked around.

"I will, Ricchan," Ui said. "I think we have a winner here. Check this out." She whipped out a piece of paper. "This is a song called 'Rice is a Side Dish.'" She cleared her throat. "Rice is great. It goes with anything." Tsumugi was fascinated. Ritsu was sweating this out. Mio and Azusa was not impressed. "Ramen, udon, or okonomiyaki, it's the dream collaboration between carbs and car..."

"Okay, we get the point, we get the point!" they all said.

"Stop, that's enough," Ritsu added.

"But the bridge—the hook—is my favorite part. Watch. It goes, 'Ichi-ni-san-shi-go-ha-n!'! Like that!"

Ritsu keeled over. "Son of a bitch, what the hell did you just fucking write? Oh mercy!" She got back up after catching her breath. "So Mugi, you got any lyrics?"*

Tsumugi rose up to her feet. "Ui-chan, check it out!" She presented Ui with the paper.

"Hmmm...Not bad." She gave it back. "Read them aloud."

"The piercing cold wind is blowing."

"Interesting," Ritsu added.

Mugi went on. "Yoshie cornered the criminal against a cliff."

"The fuck? Have you been watching Dragnet lately? Oh look, my name's Friday, I'm a detective and I let Kotobuki fellate me."

"I don't get it, either," Mio said to her with a sleazebag expression.

"What is there to get? We all are bad at writing!"

Tsumugi went on again. "Kenichi-san, you are...you are...you are the culprit!"

"Re-jected," Ritsu said.

"Awwww! But I tried my hardest on that one."

"Hey Mugi," Mio said to her. "Are those supposed to actually be lyrics?"

"Yes, ma'am. I thought we should explore a style that we never tried before."

"That's more like flash fiction to me. We are not trying to be a progressive group like Kansas, or any of those bands, all right?"

"Mio's right," Ritsu added. "You're going way too far with this thing. All right Azusa, what do you have? I turn it over to you."

"Oh, right." Azusa took a deep breath. She stood up, shy as ever, clutching the words to herself. "Uh, do I really have to read this? I'm not very confident about how this one will be received..."

"Don't worry, Azunyan," Ui said, "let's hear it!"

"Okay."

She read the words. "I know you always look at me as you slowly sway."

"Not bad," Tsumugi said. "Very good."

"Look at me. No, don't look."

Ritsu was digging it. "Amen, soul sistah!"

"It'll be very soon..."

Ui was holding on to Ritsu for dear life, while Tsumugi and Mio were anticipating. "Here it comes," Ui said, her nerves of steel getting defrayed.

"So give me a minute, Ton-chan."

Somewhere in Class 3-2, Ton-chan was asking for his pellets. Either that, or he was sensing Azusa show her affection for him. As for the others, they all groaned, hands in the air.

"So this is a song about feeding Ton-chan, huh?" Ui said, visibly stunned. "Everything was going great until then."

"Thank you, come again," Ritsu said, slumping back against the wall.

"I knew it," Azusa said. "It's no good, huh? I knew it."

"Oh, by the way Ritsu," Mio said, "what did YOU write?"

"Eh? Here it is." She handed her the words, beaming with pride.

Mio read them, with Azusa peering over her shoulder. "How much is the salmon roe...not answering the phone...the cat got sick..." She shook her head. "Mother fucker! Is it just me, or do we all suck at this?"

"Well, the Ramones were also bad at writing lyrics," Ui said, "and look what happened to them."

"They all died. Except for Tommy and Marky."

"No, before that!"

"Oh, you're right, you're right. Sorry."

"None of those are really funny..." Ritsu added.

"Write some goddamn lyrics, you jackass!" Mio shot back. "This is trash!"

"What about you, Mio?" Mugi asked her.

"I got two choices. Do you want 'Raccoon's Newly Washed Love' or 'Giraffe Rin Rin+'?"

"She's right," Ui thought to herself. "Not only are we bad at writing lyrics, but Mio-chan is in a slump."

Mio snapped out of her trance. "Hold on a minute. How long are we going to do this? We still have to practice!"

"Back to the studio!" Azusa said, forwarding the troops to the room after they finished snacking.

As the members took their places, Ui noticed the light flashing near the door. "Question: what does that flashing light indicate?" Ui asked the team.

"It must be part of the lighting," Ritsu replied, mesmerized by the blinking strobe. "A free service, maybe?"

They all looked with amazed expressions on their faces. "Dance Into the Light?" Ui asked the crew.

"Quit it with the Phil Collins," Mio said.

Minutes later, the five of them packed their bags as the evening came to the city. As promised, Ui reverted back to her clips hairdo. "Ugh, I can't believe that Mr. Arai told us our time was ending," Ritsu said to the gang with a hiss, walking with dejected looks on their faces.

"I know the reason," Ui grunted. "I know the reason. It's because Mugi-chan here prepared some tea when she shouldn't be."

Tsumugi had her reservation. "Hey, quit putting the blame on me here. I don't want to be used as a scapegoat. Besides, you wanted it more than anyone else before we went inside." Azusa shook her head. "And even worse is this: renting the studio didn't help us one damn bit."

"I hope our clubroom is doing well, and is getting fixed in a hurry. See, the thing about all this is that it's easy to take the room for granted when we use that place every day. Generally, other clubs and organizations use the room, but we get it all for ourselves during the afternoon. We kind of feel spoiled, you know?"

"True, true," Ritsu said.

Miss Sawako arrived in her magenta minivan. "Yoo hoo! Hey ladies."

"Sawachan!"

Tsumugi noticed her driving by. "Miss Sawako." They met up with her.

"I got some great news," their teacher said. "They finished the plumbing."

They others gasped. Ui meant to find out. "They did, Miss Sawako?"

"Ahead of schedule. Way ahead of schedule. The guys probably have some friends that listen to your music or have heard of you, so they decided to accelerate the work on the plumbing. Also, they went overnight, working in shifts. As a result, they finished way ahead of schedule."

Mugi was elated. "All right, that's great!"

Ui pumped her fists. "Sweet! We can finally use the music room again! Hallelujah!"

"And thus, our wandering journey concludes in earnest," Ritsu said, looking towards the Oriental skies.

"Spare me the melodrama, Ricchan," Sawako said with a smile. "Go place your instruments and book bags in the car; I'll drive them back to the school and have the staff place it back in the room tomorrow, okay?"

"Well, at least give us a ride home, too!" Ritsu pleaded.

Ui was groveling at her window. "Please, Miss Sawako?"

"I told you," she said, "my car's too small to fit you all in."

"That's a drag," Ritsu pouted.

First, Ton-chan's tank was moved back to the room from Class 3-2. Then the school staff brought inside Ritsu's drum set, the Roland and Marshall amplifiers and Mugi's keyboard from the same room back to the music room. And then the staff procured the remaining instruments from the car and placed them in the room. Thus, everything was placed where it was before the move-out. Miss Sawako personally brought back the book bags of each of the members, placing them on the bench.

"Hello, music room, we are officially back," Ui said, high-fiving the crew. "This is JSAK 91.1 FM, The Blossom, live from Studio 3MR, Sakuragaoka High School, all systems go, live and direct from here in Japan, on this wonderful afternoon..."

"Are you trying to be a DJ?" Mio asked her, a hand on her hip.

She placed her iPod on the dock and selected the first track from the Powerage album. "Yes ma'am! It's DJ Ui with you on the ones and twos. And now ladies and gentlemen, a little AC/DC. It's Rock N Roll Damnation, on The Blossom!"

* * *

_"They say that you play too loud,_

_Well, baby, that's tough!_

_They say that you got too much,_

_Can't get enough!_

_They tell you that you look the fool,_

_And, baby, I'm a fool for you!_

_They say that your mind's diseased,_

_Shake your stuff!_

_And it's a rock 'n' roll damnation!_

_Ma's own whippin' boy!_

_Rock 'n' roll damnation!_

_Take a chance while you still got the choice!_

_You say that you want respect,_

_Honey, for what?_

_For everything that you've done for me,_

_Thanks a lot!_

_Get up off your bended knees,_

_You could set your mind at ease!_

_My temperature's runnin' hot,_

_And I've been waitin' all night for a bite o' what you got!_

_And it's a rock 'n' roll damnation!_

_Ma's own whippin' boy!_

_Rock 'n' roll damnation!_

_Take a chance while you still got the choice!_

_(Damnation!) They're puttin' you down,_

_(Damnation!) All over town!_

_(Damnation!) 'Cause you're way outta reach,_

_Livin' on the streets, you gotta practice what you preach!_

_And it's a rock 'n' roll damnation!_

_Ma's own whippin' boy!_

_Rock 'n' roll damnation!_

_Take a chance while you still got the choice!_

_(Damnation!) Left a happy home,_

_(Damnation!) Just to live on your own!_

_(Damnation!) You wanna live in sin,_

_(Damnation!) It's a rock 'n' roll -_

_Damnation! Just a bundle of joy,_

_(Damnation!) You're a toy for a boy!_

_(Damnation!) You got dollars in your eye,_

_(Damnation!) Chasin' that pie in the sky!_

_(Damnation!) Rock 'n' roll -_

_Damnation!"_

* * *

"You really like to make a statement, don't you?" Ritsu said to Ui.

"Spontaneity."

"Aside from that, I really like being here once again."

"I agree," Azusa added, taking a deep breath of the refurbished surroundings. "You just get a peace of mind being in a place like this. It's not scripted."

"You better believe it, oh sisters of the mighty here on 91.1 FM, The Blossom. We'll be back with more music on the way-nya! Anyway, now that we are in our commercial break, I have to say that being able to practice in a place where we've always do it is awesome."

"It really feels good," Mio said to them, also relieved. They all were relieved.

"And we will never wander about anymore," Mugi said, closing her eyes, now in her happy place. "You'll never walk alone..."

"I love Gerry and the Pacemakers," Ui added. "And you are absolutely right. We can come here every day!"

Ritsu was ready to go. "Man, I am so fired up, you wouldn't believe it!"

"Shall I get the tea ready?" Tsumugi asked them.

"Uh, let's wait till we're done practicing," Ui said to her. "Can we play a song first?"

"Yes ma'am!" the others said. Their meeting was extended, to compensate for the lost time during maintenance.

Yui Hirasawa was busy doing some writing back in the living room. "Hey Onee-chan," she said to Ui, who was coming back from her meeting.

Holding a tray of sliced pears, she approached her with interest before setting the tray down. "Hey Yui. What are you up to?"

Yui was all smiles. "You know something?"

"What's that?"

"I love onee-chan so much, that I want to write something. I love you, onee-chan. Take a look at this poem I wrote."

Ui took the paper. "You wrote a poem for me?"

"Yes, I did."

"I am moved. Thank you. Let's see here." She laughed as she read the lyrics. "Wow. Maybe I can make a song out of this."

Yui was surprised. "You will?"

"Yeah. By the way, I don't see a name for this song—er, this poem you wrote. What's the name of it?"

"U&I."

"U&I, huh? Yui, I don't know if you realized this, but this has all the makings...of a Hokago Tea Time classic. Thanks."

"All right. By the way, onee-chan, what do you need my lyrics for?"

"Here's the thing," she said to her. "Every one of us in the band needs to contribute some lyrics. Me, Mio-chan, Azunyan, Mugi-chan and Ricchan."

"And you want to use mine's?"

"Precisely."

"That's great, onee-chan, I feel like I am part of the band. Hey everybody, I am the sixth member of the light music club! Ohohohohoooh!"

Ui grinned, "Yeah, I'm gonna have you take over for me in the club next April, so that you know what it feels like to be on stage."

She blinked. "Eh? I am gonna be joining next April; what are you talking about?"

"Sorry, I forgot."

Yui pouted. "Hey, can I take a look at what you wrote?"

"Sure, sure, go right ahead." She handed Yui the paper.

"Rice is a Side Dish...whoa! These lyrics are amazing! Onee-chan, news flash, news flash: we're actually pretty darn good at this!" She took a sliced pear and popped it in her mouth.

"Well, the problem here is that I like it, but the others didn't. So it's kinda ironic that you say that, Yui. It's too bad. What do you think."

"These lyrics are great, onee-chan! Why would they say such things? It's not like they can come up with anything better, you know?"

"But that's the thing: they can't. All the other lyrics they have been submitting have been rejected by committee. It's an impasse. But I'm glad you liked it."

"By the way, these pears are good. Do you want me to help you with writing some of these lyrics? I hope you don't burn yourself out."

"The Hirasawa Sisters, a songwriting duo. I like the sounds of it." They shook hands. "Let's do this. Thanks, Yui."

"But of course, onee-chan." Together, they composed the notation and brushed up the wording for "Rice Is A Side Dish", "U&I," and penned the lyrics and composition for a third song, "Shiawase Hiyori," also known as "Happy Perfect Weather," as well as a fourth song, "Oh My Giita!"

Ton-chan was swimming in his tank the following day quite merrily as he watched the members chat over tea and pastries once again. The school festival was closing in, and the need to prepare couldn't come any sooner.

"This sucks," Ritsu said, head on the table like a drunk bum fresh out of Mississippi. "I can't think of anything. Fuck."

"Writing lyrics can really be a pain in the ass," Azusa said, thinking too much with her head in her hands.

Ritsu turned to her guitaring friend, who looked as if she won the World Series of Poker. "Hey Ui, you look as if you got something we can use."

"That I got," Ui said, beaming with pride as she peeled another clementine. "Four songs penned by the Hirasawa Sisters, including the one I showed you yesterday. We're a factory, and we're rolling. Choo chooooo!"

"Sure you did, you bastard," Ritsu said with a contemptuous glare. "Where's your proof?"

Ui gave her the papers. "Here it is."

"Mother fucker," she hissed coolly.

* * *

Ritsu took a look. Actually, all the others did. "Holy shit, you actually used rhymes when writing these," Azusa said, Mugi looking at her in fear.

Mio and Ritsu were stunned. "Did you actually write these?" Ritsu said in disbelief.

Ui popped a slice in her mouth. "I told you, it's the work of me and Yui. On one of the songs, she wrote the words but I composed the music. As for the others, we wrote and composed it ourselves."

"No way that could be possible," Ritsu said.

Azusa knew it. "No..."

Mio knew it. "...Friggin'..."

Mugi knew it. "...Way." Ui yawned. "You seem to be a bit sleepy."

She chuckled at Mugi. "We stayed up all night writing these bad boys, that's why."

"Well, you'd better not catch a cold like last year," Mio reminded here.

"With these oranges here, I will keep the cold at bay. The power of citrus fruits must never be underestimated." She held two navels on high. "Behold, I bring you the power of the Great Orange!" She pressed them on Mio's cheeks. "Ooof! What the heck are you doing!" She was going to feel that for a while.

Mio Akiyama needed inspiration. She needed all the inspiration she could get. Back in her room, she decided to listen to the music on her laptop to find some form of it. She was sitting there, in the middle of the night, still trying to find the right words to write. It was becoming a drag.

Finally, the words came out, and after listening to radio advertisements for bakeries and dramas involving broken hearts in the rain, she penned the words for what would become "Tokimeki Sugar," "Samidare 20 Love," "Come With Me!" and a rough draft of the band's theme song, which had the same name as their band. She also wrote the words for "Seishun Vibration" and "Soukuu no Monologue," but would not release this to the band until later.

The phone rang. Ritsu again. Ui picked it up. "Hello?"

"Mio-chan?"

"What's up, Ui?"

"...caught a cold."

"Who did?"

"I did."

"The hell? Unbelievable!" Mio called Ritsu, who called Tsumugi, who called Azusa. They all hurried over to Ui's house in the middle of the night. This wasn't good. It was a bad moon rising!

* * *

The others couldn't believe, however, that they were had. "Ehhh?"

"Yui-chan's the one who caught a cold?" Mio asked her.

"You mean to tell me you made us come all the way over here for nothing?" Ritsu asked her. "Quit scaring us like that, you! But I admit, her bring ill is a big problem."

Ui was disconsolate. "I tried giving her some tea and tucked her in her bed with some tissues, but it seems to be getting worse. At this rate, Yui will...Yui will...!"

"Relax, Ui," Mio said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Where's Yui-chan?"

Yui brought over a plate with ice tea. "Hello, everyone," she said, shivering.

The others freaked out, naturally.

"Oh my God!" Ritsu exclaimed.

"Good heavens!" Mio shouted.

"She's not all right, she not all right," Azusa said.

"Is there a doctor in the house?" Tsumugi added. "Mediiiiiic!"

"Nononono, don't take that, I'll take it, I'll take it," Ui said, taking the tray and placing it on the table. "God." She was doing a bit too much for her older sister. Way too much.

* * *

Azusa tucked Yui into bed, placing a towel on her head. "You need to rest. Seriously. You need to rest."

"Sorry, Azunyan. I wanted to do it for you," she said, her morale sinking.

"The good thing here is that her fever isn't very high and she should be able to recover from her fever quickly," Tsumugi said to the team, checking the thermometer.

Mio nodded. "Excellent."

"Ui, you gave her some of your oranges, and that may have helped her."

"Good to hear, good to hear," she replied.

"Well Ui, we'll be on our way, then," said Ritsu, looking at her watch.

A frown. "Dawww, already?"

"Yui-chan's not gonna be able to rest if we stay with her."

"Well, I guess if you have no choice, it can't be helped...but it would be a drag."

Yui rose from her bed. "Don't worry, onee-chan, I'm still here," she said with a cough, "so you'll be fine."

"Uh, who's taking care of who here?" Azusa asked, confounded as ever. "You're the one she'll be taking care of, Yui!"

Ui had to reassure her younger sister. "Don't worry, Yui, everything will be all right! I promise you."

* * *

"Hey Ui," Tsumugi said to her as the four of them left, "call us if you need anything, okay?"

"Keep your phones on, your ears tuned and your hearts open," she replied. "We'll let you know."

"Once you do call us," Mio added, "we'll drop by to see how you guys are doing."

"Great. I knew I could count on you guys."

"That's what we're here for," Ritsu added. "Let's go." And they took off.

"Onee-chan, I'll be okay," Yui said to her. "Really."

"But still..."

"No, I'll be all right. I'm more worried about you making you feel ill if you're near me."

"Yui..." Ui looked at her with sympathetic eyes. She hated to see Yui like this. It was bad enough for Yui to see her feeling sick. Now it was the other way around, which was even worse. Something had to be done about all of this.

"So please, go back to your room. For your sake, as well as mine's, okay?" The sight drove Ui to tears. But there was nothing she could do at that point.

"Hey Yui, if you need any food or anything, let me know, all right?"

"Okay."

Ui turned off the light, closed the door and retired to the living room to make some dinner for herself. She flipped on the television and turned the volume down. More NFL highlights in slow motion. Was it a highlight film, or a screen saver with music on the family HDTV? It looked indistinguishable.

"Touchdown! Touchdown! Oh what a big play!" the announcer said, as another Sam Spence soundtrack played on the big screen.

"Oh onee-chan, I'm not in the mood for sports," Yui said to herself, covering her face for her comforter as she fell asleep. Such ears she had.

Ui hummed the melody to U&I as she prepared some soup for herself. Naturally, it was something simple and savory on the way, with just enough firepower to permanently keep the bad boys at bay.

"To think that she would write that song for me," she said to herself, adding some pepper to the soup and a hint of lemon. "I don't believe that I will ever, ever have someone like her ever again."

As she stirred the contents together and turned off the television, she came to terms with the appreciation Yui had for her. Yui was not the brightest sister out there, but it was the only one she had, and she felt a sense of pride from knowing that she loved her for being the rock of the Hirasawa Family, especially when the parents were off on other ventures.

Yui was there for her, just like Ui was there for Yui. And Ui knew that. This song, "U&I," was not just her song: it was the song of two sisters who dedicated their lives to bringing out the best in each other. It was a Hirasawa family song, and most of all, it was a song that characterized the ties and values that bound Hokago Tea Time together.

* * *

Yui woke up to the sounds of the birds singing in the morning dew of autumn. As she opened her eyes, she rose from her bed and gave her comforter a good fold. "How about that, I feel good as ever," she said, stretching. She went downstairs, and saw Ui prepare breakfast.

"There's my beloved sister," she replied with a thumbs-up and a wink. "How are you?"

"Onee-chan, I feel great."

Ui set a plate down. "I made you some eggs, toast with jam, miso soup, all your favorites. Dig in."

"Wow. Thank you."

"Now for the news." Flipping the remote in the air, she turned the TV on with accurate precision, striking a pose while doing it. "Yui, I've come to terms with the fact that the song you wrote is going to be a hit."

"What song?"

"U&I."

"Are you sure you're not giving me too much praise?" Yui giggled. "Not that it's a bad thing, but..."

"Oh, nonono, I'm serious, this is going to be awesome. When we play this at the school festival, it will be a hit. I'm letting you know this right now," Ui said, pointing the remote at her.

"Good, goodgoodgood, I like what I am hearing, onee-chan! You make everything awesome, you know that?"

"But of course. You know your onee-chan is laying her life on the line for you, moving heaven and earth."

"Wonder Woman!"

"Well, I'm not a superhero, but I know somebody who played one on TV. Go ahead and enjoy. This day was made for U&I. And Yui."

"And me."

"It all makes sense!" they both said, laughing as they enjoyed their breakfast. Ui looked at the song lyrics one last time before taking off.

* * *

_"When U're not around I can't do anything._

_I want to eat Ur food._

_When U come back,_

_I'll cling to U with a super smile._

_When U're not around I can't apologize._

_I want to hear Ur voice._

_Being able to see Ur smile is all I need._

_I always gave me courage just by being by my side._

_I want to be together forever._

_I want to tell U these feelings._

_Whether rain or shine,_

_U stayed by my side._

_If I close my eyes I see your radiant smile._

_When U're not around I don't understand anything._

_Where's the sugar and soy sauce?_

_When U come back,_

_I thought I'd surprise U and yet…_

_Unconsciously I act spoiled towards U,_

_Since U're too kind._

_I receive so much from U without being able to give back._

_Obviously I thought about how U stayed by my side._

_I thought that such days,_

_Would continue forever and ever._

_I'm sorry; I've only just realized it now._

_It's something that's not so obvious._

_First I'll start by telling U,_

_"Thanks."_

_I wonder has it reached Ur heart?_

_I don't have any confidence right now but,_

_Don't laugh and just listen,_

_Because I put my thoughts into a song._

_I want to place all my "Thanks"_

_Into a song and send it to U._

_I will never ever forget these feelings._

_My thoughts...reach!"_

* * *

Back at the school, Ritsu called a special meeting to order at the Music Room. "So, according to the consensus vote," the drumming president said, "we're going to use Ui's lyrics."

She was flattered. "Written and composed by the Hirasawa Sisters. On behalf of myself and my younger sister Yui, we accept this wonderful trophy, which is actually not here because Ricchan forgot to bring it when the time came, the lazy-ass president..."

"Oh shut up, you!"

"You have a knack for writing the best," Tsumugi. "Whoever thought that you had it in you!"

"Not just any "you.' The letter 'U.' Get it?"

"I GET!"

"Enough of the wordplay, you guys," Mio groaned. "But again, these words are epic and will be a hit."

"We're gonna be in good hands," Azusa said. "Well done, that Ui-sempai."

"An adage I tell you lassies on the mount: 'I realized the importance of a truly valuable thing only after I lost it.' And thus, these are the feelings my sister wanted to convey, and I in turn reciprocate."

"I still can't believe you actually wrote this."

"As a matter of fact," Ritsu added, "it's because of Ui-chan and this clubroom that she could write it."

"Thank you, thank you," Ui said, "you're far too kind. The songwriting train of Hirasawa and Hirasawa continues on, choo chooooo!"

"Ui, you and Yui are not Holland/Dozier/Holland," Mio replied curtly, "so don't get ahead of yourselves." She was in tears. "My lyrics..."

"We can write a second song," Ritsu said, trying to assuage the situation. "No, we can do two songs, or three, or four!"

"Oh, screw her," Ui said, "we can always go in a different direction if need be. It's my way or the highway now!"

Three against two can be such a cruel fate to swallow if Tsumugi decides these types of things.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 17**

A/N: Translation of "Curry Over Rice" and "U&I" is courtesy of Honya of Lyrical Spark.


	18. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 18:**

**Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

* * *

**

Sakuragaoka High School was buzzing yet again. The countdown to the class play was in full swing as part of the lead-up to the school festival and all the fun and good times that awaited the community.

The girls of the Light Music Club did not realize this, but they would be playing a massive role in the entire play. And the thing about this group of girls was that they were, aside from students, musicians by profession. They never took any acting classes, nor did they have a future in the knock-down, drag-out world of theater arts. They were not thespians, and even if they were, no one would give them a shot. But the professions of music making and acting share at least one thing in common: the need to perform on a stage in front of an audience, regardless of size.

Jun Suzuki, Class 3-2 president and the incumbent student council president, called for a vote at homeroom. At stake was the leading role for the class's rendition of the great Shakespearean tragedy "Romeo and Juliet."

"Tachibana, Akiyama, Matsumoto, Akiyama, Tachibana, Akiyama, and that's it. So by consensus," Jun said, turning to the class, "the leading role of Rome in Class 3-2's production, of Romeo and Juliet will go to Mio Akiyama."

Akiyama was voted in with 19 votes. Ritsu Tainaka earned 10 votes; Himeko Tachibana earned 6 votes, while Mifuyu Matsumoto earned just two, with all 37 precincts reporting, each student representing one precinct. Jun abstained.

Mio was shocked. "We got her over the top!" Ui Hirasawa said, rising from her chair. "Banzai, banzai, banzai!"

"Hey, you don't need to thump your chest out too much, sunshine," Ritsu Tainaka said to her, grinning.

"Grrr, I concede wholeheartedly, all," Himeko said, tousling her locks a bit. "Man, this wasn't even close. Rigged, methinks."

"We did it!" Tsumugi Kotobuki added, joining in the applause. All of the light music members voted for Mio, except for her, who voted for Ritsu.

"That's what I am talking about, Mio," Ritsu said to her. She was frozen as a stick. "Ms. Akiyama, wake up, it's Monday morning. Sunday won't be for another several days. Wakey wakey! Come on! Hey peoples," she called out to the class, "Do we have to send the J-G-S-D-F on this mother?" Nothing could prevent Mio from feeling like the worst had come to pass. "Send 'em in, she passed out. More news at 11."

* * *

After a few seconds, Mio got back to her senses, raising her hands. "I...I refuse!" They all turned.

"What was that, Akiyama?" Jun asked her.

"Well..." She was blushing mad. "Here's the thing: I don't believe that a popular vote is the best way to decide the lead actor role. Shouldn't this have been decided through auditions?" That was where Himeko had an advantage, as she did do some acting in junior high, and was a member of their theatre club, aside from the softball team. Fumie Kimura and Youko Sasaki, who voted for Mio and were crucial to giving her the nod, were suspicious, as was Nobuyo Nakajima, who also voted for Mio and was an HTT believer herself.

"But nobody volunteered, and we had no nominations." Apparently, laziness and shyness were not just restricted to the club...it was a class issue.

"I...I nominate Ritsu!"

"Eh?" She was stunned.

"She's energetic, brave, and is an ace at practicing her pro-wrestling moves!"

"How the hell is that like Romeo at all?" Well, Romeo was a guy, but that was more along the lines of Tybalt. Albeit, Tybalt preferred to use the sword, as was the custom of those days. "I don't compare with Miss Mio here," Ritsu said, her hands on her shoulder, "who is popular enough to have her own fan club, and I believe all the members of the club who are in this class—yes, I am talking to your legions, Miss Youko Sasaki, our resident Miologist—got her over the top! I included. You're best fit for the role, sweetheart. Don't deny the inevitable. It's bad for your health and awesomeness."

"Dammit..."

Ui slammed a fist into a cupped hand. "I see what you did there! Your name is Mio-chan, thus, when we combine the two words it's RoMio. It all makes senses, ladies of the Class 3-2. Am I right? Tell me!"

"Amen!" some of them said in the front.

"Quit making crappy in-jokes, you son-of-a-bitch!" Mio screamed.

"Proof is in the moeblob," Ritsu added. "What's in a name? Everything! And some."

Ichigo Wakaouji looked on, bored as a sheep. "So noisy..." Eiko Sakuma and Yoshimi Sunahara nodded, in agreeance with Ui's discovery.

Ritsu piled it on. "Come on, think about it. I'll apply your makeup that day with purple eye shadow and red lipstick and a witch's outfit. Bang!" Sawako Yamanaka, the Class 3-2 instructor, would be grinning, knowing Ritsu's lack of makeup knowhow. Actually, she would be laughing her ass off, knowing that a semblance of Death Devil resurrected. Oh, the nasty thing! She was currently monitoring the vote from her chair.

"Mother fucker, are you trying to make me a witch?" On top of that, it was the wrong play for witches. That was Macbeth.

"And even more, get this...I'll be filming the whole thing from the front row."

"Freeloading SOB," she moaned, head on the desk, despondent like an unemployed clown.

"Tainaka," Jun said to Ritsu, "Since you earned the second-most votes, we wish you well as Juliet." Ritsu had been gaining support for her boyish looks, drumming prowess and upbeat personality. Plus, it didn't hurt that she was a gourmand. The voters took this into consideration, and so did Mio. Unfortunately, votes for Mifuyu and Himeko prevented Ritsu from gaining ground on Mio. On top of that, half of the members were part of the Mio FC that included seniors, sophomores and freshmen.

"I...I refuse!" Ritsu said, to Mio's disgust.

"Fucker," her ladyfriend hissed with a snarl. "Your whole mood had made an about-face the moment you got in a situation like that. It just had to. Just had to. Coward."

"How the hell am I going to play Juliet in this one?" Ritsu asked Jun.

"Couldn't be helped," she shrugged. "The votes are the votes."

"But there are others who fit this role better. Like, say for example..." She looked for someone for the longest time. "...Mugi!"

"I'm actually the scriptwriter translating the text into Japanese," she replied, "so I can't do it." Of all the students in 3-2, Tsumugi was actually fluent in English and could translate the whole script within six to eight hours.

"Damn. What about Ichigo? She is as cute as a princess."

"Hell no," she said, twirling her hair. "You rats are on your own." Ichigo didn't get any votes and would play one of the minor characters among either the Montagues or Capulets.

"Grrr. You bitch! What about Mika Saeki? Hey Mika, you said that you wanted to play a princess, right? Right?" Ritsu asked her.

"Yeah, but Mio-chan is playing Romeo," she replied.

The poor drummer was in a corner. "So? What does that have to do with anything?"

"With Mio-chan as Romeo, guys, who else can play Juliet but Ricchan?" Mika would also play a bit part.

Class 3-2, aside from the club, understood that Mio and Ritsu was a popular pair. They were talked about by the seniors. They were talked about by the sophomores. They were talked about by the freshmen. The journalism club had been spreading juicy gossip regarding the press-anointed "First Pair of Sakuragaoka" for quite some time, and even the underclassmen knew that sooner or later, these two would get the lead roles.

"Right on!" said Ushio Oota.

Ritsu turned to her in shock. "Eh?"

"You're her partner, so light the way for her," said Keiko Sano. "There has to be a straight man and a funny man in all of this."

"You pathetic scumbag, we're not manzai comedians here!" Ritsu screamed at her. The others laughed.

"News flash: if Ricchan and Mio-chan are playing the leading roles," Tsumugi said, putting her hands together, "boom baby, I gotta rework this script. It's sexy time!"

Ritsu was beside herself. "Oh, you friggin' lesbo!"

"What are you going to make us do?" they both growled.

"You'll find out, children!" They didn't like the sound of that.

"Okay, and since we don't have any objections, we'll go ahead and decide the other roles," Jun said to the class.

"The See You Next Tuesday's not hearing us out," Ritsu said to Mio.

"Awwwwww shit."

"First," Jun went on, "the costumes-"

"I'll volunteer!" Miss Sawako exclaimed, raising her hand.

"Miss Sawako, I can't ask you to-"

"Don't worry," she said, nibbling her ear to the moans of some in the class, "I won't disappoint you."

"Fine, we'll leave it to you," Jun said.

"Oh?" Sawako turned to both of Mio and Ritsu, who were holding each other's hands, frightened for their lives. "Why are you guys scared?"

Ritsu let out a whimper. "Miss Sawako..."

"Oh you."

It was hell in a hand basket back at the music room as the club members were consigned to dabbling in their own self-imposed misery. A certain drummer, a certain bass player and a certain...fear.

Azusa Nakano checked in to see how the others were doing. "I see. So your class is putting on a play, huh?"

"That's right," Tsumugi said to her. "It's a rendition of Romeo and Juliet.

"No wonder Mio-sempai is acting like the world is too much for her once again."

Azusa pointed to Mio, looking to Ton-chan for some sort of spiritual guidance. The turtle looked at her as if to say, "Sorry to hear that, but come on, you can do this."

The twintailed guitarist turned to the dozing drummer. "Oh boy, and to think that Ritsu-sempai will be Juliet..."

Ritsu's head was in her hands. Ouch. Stressful times are stressful "Go ahead and laugh! See if I fucking care!" Naturally, Azusa did. Out loud.

"No, I wasn't laughing. I was just..."

"Nakano! You just did, you liar!" she said, arm-tackling Azusa.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" The laughter went on as Ritsu choked her.

"You're still laughing, dammit!" She was in tears.

"Sorry, sorry!" But Azusa was wondering about Ui's role in the play.

"I got it easy, everybody! I am a tree!" Ui exclaimed, arms outstretched.

"Son of a bitch! For real?"

"Yes! I am Tree 'G'!"

Azusa counted off her fingers. "A, B, C, D, E, F...the class needs that many trees?"

"Well, there's also a few more, but that's beside the point. And I have to hold still for the duration of the play, like this. It does give your arms a workout."

"I see..." Ritsu grinned triumphantly.

"I could have played one of the leads, but I wanted to let somebody else do it."

"Man, I wonder how this is going to turn out..." Azusa thought.

"I need to go take a look at the script I'm translating, so I will return to 3-2," Mugi said, leaving. "Take care, you guys."

Ritsu nodded. "All right, we'll see you there once Mio cools her engines." And Mugi took off. "Okay then...ladies, we are gonna have to do something...about here."

Mio was still slumping. "I want to be you..." she said to Ton-chan.

The turtle looked at her as if to say, "Oh, get a grip of yourself, you Japanese woman!"

Ritsu walked over. "Hey Mio."

Azusa tried to give her words of encouragement. "Good luck! I'm really looking forward to seeing you as Romeo!"

The bassist was taken aback by those words. "Eh? D...Don't look forward to it, please!" she pleaded, blue streaks under her eyes. "I despise it, among all things." Ritsu looked at her with that same "here we go again" face.

"But it's a great opportunity! I mean, Romeo is an awesome character. You're gonna be the star of this year's school festival once again."

Now Ritsu looked at her as if to say, "Have you forgotten about 'The Incident', oh dearest kitty cat?"

Mio remembered what happened in freshman year as if it happened yesterday. It was not a nice feeling to flaunt her stripes in front of everyone. Her sweating, blushing face turned blue at the memory of it all. And then she closed her eyes and fell to her knees, fainting, head pressed against the counter in tears.

"You idiot," Ritsu said to Azusa. "Quit dealing the death blow to her like you're the bloody Grim Reaper or something."

"Sorry."

She had to make an excuse. Mio quickly got up and headed for the door. "Hey, where are you going?" Ritsu asked her. "We have to rehearse for the play."

She looked back. "I'm sorry, but I'm moving away," she said.

Ritsu was suspicious. "Huh?" Azusa wondered what was going on.

"Our family is moving to Irkutsk because of Daddy's job."

She raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you running off to, love?"

"Daddy?" Azusa asked.

"My dad!" Mio clarified vociferously. "A-Anyway, that's how it is. Bye, everyone."

Ui looked on as if to say, "Here it comes...!"

"Hold it right there, love!" Ritsu said, stopping her ladyfriend in her tracks by grabbing the back of her jacket. The sparks where in her eyes as Mio's face turned blue again. Ritsu knew that was a lie. Her parents talked with Mio's parents yesterday, and they told her they weren't going anywhere.

"Let me go!" she exclaimed turning to her on her knees. "I swear I'll come back after the school festival!"

Sweat drops came down Ritsu and Azusa's heads. "But what about our concert?"Azusa asked, agitated by her chickening out.

"I will let my twin sister play in it."

"You've got a twin?" Ritsu asked her, unimpressed. Another lie and that was worse than the first one. Mio did not have a twin sister.

"Oh, i-it was a dream? Damn, that was scary as hell," she said, laughing to herself. She went on. "It was so ridiculous that I was cast as Romeo. Ahahahahahah...'

Ritsu and Azusa looked at each other, wondering if Mio had gone mental all of a sudden. Ui stood there, grinning impishly. "She denies the cold, hard truth with each passing moment," Azusa said.

"Let's start practicing for the school festival concert," Mio said, putting on Elizabeth, her steadfast bass.

Ritsu grabbed the back of her jacket again and dragged her out the door, leaving her bass behind. "Let's go, princess."

"No! No! No! I don't wanna go down to the basement, there's something down there! I don't wanna go!"

Azusa was not amused. "Hey, Romeo..."

"There's something down there! I don't wanna go down to the basement!"

She heard enough. "We're not going to the basement, we're going back to 3-2 to look at the script and rehearse! And quit bringing up the Ramones!" Ritsu added. "Both of you!"

"Sorry," Azusa said.

Mio felt violated as her soft skin slid against the wood. "Stop! Let me go! Let me go!"

"That's gotta hurt."

"Shut up!" Ritsu said, closing the door, while dragging her down the stairs.

"Mother..." She turned to Ui. "Don't you have to go too?"

"I am a tree! Jun-chan told me to practice holding still!" she said.

"I see. So you did get it easy."

Back at 3-2, the rehearsal was in order as the desks and chairs were moved to the hall. Most of the class were in their track outfits. Tsumugi completed the translation of the script as she and Jun fell in with Ritsu and Mio. Miss Sawako was fixing Mika up as Ichigo and Fumie looked on.

"What, art thou drawn among these heartless hinds? Turn thee Benvolio! Look upon thy death," Nobuyo said, reading, from her script. Others, like Eri Taki, were cutting out some cardboard to prepare the scenery.

"She can't do it?" Jun asked Ritsu.

"She's really insistent, Jun."

"I cannot play the leading role," Mio added, twiddling her fingers.

Mugi turned to Jun. "It's unfortunate, but she also has to do the concert with us."

"All right. I'll reconsider if you insist."

"Really?" Mio's hopes were up.

"But the whole class gave you this chance, so come on, try doing this one more time, okay?"

"Eh?" The whole class gave her this opportunity. By consensus.

"Listen, I'm sure everybody here at this school is looking forward to seeing you on the stage," Jun said.

"My sword, I say! Old Montague is come and flourishes his blade in spite of me," Ai Tsuchiya said, reading from her script, drawing her prop sword. Internalizing the whole script and role in such a short space of time was going to be the main challenge.

"Sounds like a samurai drama," Chika Nojima added, to the smiles of Mugi and Jun. They all laughed.

Mio decided that there was only one path to salvation, and she was going to have to do it right. "Okay, you guys. I am convinced. I will do this."

Tsumugi liked what she heard. "Excellent."

"You're a miracle worker, Jun."

"I try, I try," she said.

"She is a miracle worker, isn't she?" Mugi said to Ritsu.

"She is. But it doesn't look like everyone was honest about why they decided to vote her in."

Ritsu pointed at Youko. "I can't wait to see Miss Akiyama as Romeo!" she said to Toshimi Shibaya, who also voted for Mio.

"Amen, my friend!" They both squealed with delight, captive and energized.

The bust representing the founder of the school had a sash extolling the virtues of his country draped around him as he welcomed the following day.

Ritsu was in her track outfit, reading from the script. "My ears have yet not drunk a hundred words of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound. Art thou not Romeo, and a Montague?" She was sweating. She was in love with Mio, but to this level? It was the next level. Too unreal, unusual. Beyond her limitations.

"Cut, cut," said Tsumugi, to Ritsu's surprise, as Nobuyo and Keiko Sano looked on.

"Sorry."

"Let's try Romeo's part."

Mio read her line. She was also in her track suit. "Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike."

"Cut. This is going to take some time."

"Ugh!"

She pointed at her with her script roll. "Mio-chan, you're still acting embarrassed. Romeo has to act all courageous and stuff."

"You're strict..."

"Back to Ricchan! And...action!"

It was difficult to know who was sweating more profusely in this situation. Those in the makeshift student audience would be wise to call it a dead heat. "Let's see...How cam'st thou hither, tell me, and wherefore? The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, and the place death, considering who thou art, if any of my kinsmen find thee here..."

"Cut!" Ritsu frowned. "That one, too! That's not gonna work."

She was started to reach her limit regarding the rehearsal. "Mugi."

"Eh?"

"Are you obsessed with saying the word 'cut!' every single time?"

"Eh?" She was, as Chika, Nobuyo, Mika, Ushio and Haruko Chikada looked on. "Eheheheh...I'm sorry."

"No wonder we couldn't get anything done," Nobuyo said to the others.

"I feel like a movie director. This is so fun to do!" Romeo and Juliet, directed by Tsumugi Kotobuki.

"Aside from that, Mio, you need to speak up more."

"S...Sorry," she replied, embarrassed. It was easy for her to express her feelings to Ritsu, but to convey those same feelings on stage? Well, that was a different story,

"Besides, you have a good voice, and we need to have everyone hear it," Ushio added.

A nod. "Right."

"Let's keep that in mind as we go through this scene one more time," Tsumugi said. "Back to Ricchan. And...action!"

Ritsu read from another part of her script. "Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow..." Her emotions were starting to get the better of her, and she was trembling. It was too sweet. Too much. C'est trop!

"Ricchan, there's more to that line."

She was sweating "But..." She had to read it. "Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow." She threw aside the script in a fit of rage. "Sonofabitchassmotherfucker, I wanna reach out and kill these piece-of-shit parents right noooooow!"

"There's another problem," Chika said.

She threw the script against the floor, stamping her feet in frustration. "What is wrong with this story, goddamnit? You keep going around in circles! I mean, fuck man, if you hate your parents so much, leave the fucking family or go to friggin' Switzerland or France, or somewhere. Anywhere but Verona, goddamnit! I admit haven't been there, but I would believe that place is a dump! This type of bullshit would not happen in Japan in the 21st Century! Fuck no! This is a complete disgrace!"

"She totally rejected Shakespeare," the others said with disappointment as Mio looked on, scratching her head. But that was something about Ritsu the students needed to know: she was a free-spirited liberal who believed in self-determination and making up one's own rules. She got along with her parents and Mio's parents, but they gave her relative liberty in regards to her relationship with Mio. The whole premise behind Romeo and Juliet in terms of the customs of that time and the restrictiveness of the main protagonists' families was something Ritsu had yet to come to terms with.

Ushio looked to her right. "And even Miss Akiyama is acting..." They all turned. "...like that."

She was blushing while reading her lines, and had to turn away, her face in her script. They looked at her with endearing eyes, Miss Akiyama's constituents were. "Ahhhhhhh," they all said. Mesmerizing.

A rosy afternoon welcomed the students as they left campus and adjourned the rehearsal. Except for the light music club, who resumed the usual practice, tea and cakes. "No mas, no mas, mis amigas," Mio said in her poor Spanish. Her head was slumped on the desk, exhausted from the practice gauntlet that she underwent. Ritsu let out a groan as Ui turned her tree switch off, plugged her iPod to the player and played the flagship track from AC/DC's third album.

* * *

_"If you're havin' trouble with your high school head/huh, huh, huh, huh_

_He's givin' you the blues/huh, huh, huh_

_You wanna graduate but not in 'is bed/huh, huh, huh, huh_

_Here's what you gotta do/huh, huh, huh_

_Pick up the phone, I'm always home/huh, huh, huh, huh, huh_

_Call me anytime/huh, huh, huh_

_Just ring: three-six-two-four-three-six, hey_

_I lead a life of crime_

_Dirty deeds done dirt cheap_

_Dirty deeds done dirt cheap_

_Dirty deeds done dirt cheap_

_Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap_

_Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap_

_You got problems in your life of love/huh, huh, huh, huh_

_You got a broken heart/huh, huh, huh_

_He's double-dealin' with your best friend/huh, huh, huh, huh, huh_

_That's when the teardrops start FELLA, well-uh/huh, huh, huh_

_Pick up the phone, I'm here alone/huh, huh, huh, huh, huh_

_Or make a social call/huh, huh, huh, huh_

_Come right in, forget about him_

_We'll have ourselves a ball, eh_

_Dirty deeds done dirt cheap_

_Dirty deeds done dirt cheap_

_Dirty deeds done dirt cheap_

_Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap, oohh_

_Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap_

_Whoa yeah_

_You got a lady and you want her gone/huh, huh, huh, huh_

_But you ain't got the guts/huh, huh, huh_

_She keeps naggin' at you night 'n' day/huh, huh, huh, huh_

_Enough to drive you nuts/huh, huh, huh, huh_

_Pick up the phone, leave her alone/huh, huh, huh, huh_

_It's time you made a stand/huh, huh, huh, huh_

_For a fee, I'm happy to be_

_Your back door man, hey_

_Dirty deeds done dirt cheap_

_Dirty deeds done dirt cheap_

_Dirty deeds done dirt cheap_

_Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap, yeah_

_Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap_

_Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap_

_Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap_

_Concrete shoes_

_Cyanide_

_T.N.T_

_Done dirt cheap_

_Ooo, neckties_

_Contracts_

_High voltage_

_Done dirt cheap, yeah_

_Dirty deeds, do anything you want me to, done dirt cheap_

_Dirty deeds, dirty deeds, dirty deeds, done dirt cheap_

_Yaaagh!"_

* * *

"And it looks like everyone's a bit concerned," Tsumugi said. "Would you believe it."

"You know, I agree that Ritsu-sempai isn't really cut out to be Juliet," Azusa said to the others.

"Ha, but I am more than fit to be Tree "G', baby," Ui said, thumping her chest. "Arroomph! Arroomph! Arroomph!"

"We know. We know. We know."

"Good. Good. Good."

Ritsu was defiant as ever. "Oh shut up, cheerful," she growled, a lioness in dormancy.

"That reply didn't have any energy at all," Azusa replied, suspicious.

"Members of the Light Music Sisterhood of Rock and Roll," Ui said, "I bring forth to you all an idea from these hands, they're small, I know, but they are not yours; they are my home and I am never broken. For in the end, only kindness matters."

"First Shakespeare, and now Jewel?" Ritsu said to Mio. "What has the world come to?"

Her face was still glued to the table. "Shall we hear more, or shall we speak at this?" The poor thing.

"The former. And thus, whatever could thine own idea be, dearest coz, upon these cups of tea?" Ritsu asked Ui, who went on. They were feeling it.

"Ah. You see, my dear Ricchan, you must act like a lady from this point forward, for Juliet in her day was a proper woman, brimming with class and grace up until her final hours. As for you, Mio-chan, you must take it upon yourself to act like a noble gentleman, with pride and strength and courage. That was how Romeo was to his final hours. He was a courageous, devoted Montague and laid his life on the line for the woman he loved and died with."

"That idea was a no-brainer," Azusa said to her sempai.

"Thus, Ricchan is not allowed to talk like a tomboy anymore," Tsumugi summarized, a customer of the concept.

Ritsu got up. "For real?"

"Thumbs down," Ui said, her thumb turning towards the desk. "That will not work, and is un-Juliet-like."

"Easy for you to say, you are a tree!"

"Not just any tree: Tree G, the most wise of the forest."

"There is actually a character like that in the story?"

"I made that up."

Ritsu sat straight up, tormented. "Fucker."

"That will not work, either, because Juliet never used such manly words in her day."

"Also known as profanity," Azusa added as Ritsu took her cup for a sip.

"When Juliet drank her tea, she held her cup with both hands, gracefully. Try it," Ui said to Ritsu.

"Ehhhh?" Foreign territory was foreign.

"Hint, hint, hint: stick your pinky finger out. I saw the movie for this, and Juliet stuck her pinky out when holding it with both hands. Come one, let me see it."

Ritsu was sweating. "Why?"

"Oh, and you need to tuck your shirt inside the skirt, while buttoning your jacket."

"Ehhh?" She tried it out. Ritsu was now one with the rest of them. "This feels weird, you guys."

"Definitely feels unusual," Azusa added. It was as if Ricchan lost her identity, akin to the independent television broadcasters across the United Kingdom. She looked professional. Too professional. An uncomfortable level of professional.

"Ladies, Mio-chan is also ready," Ui said to both of them.

Mio had her shirt untucked, her jacket unbuttoned, and her shirt collar undone while her hair was tied back in a ponytail. "Are you sure this will really work?" she asked Ui. "It's so embarrassing..."

"Don't kid yourself, dearest Mio. It will be a grand slam."

"Whoa." A blushing Azusa was mesmerized and could feel a slight wetness gathering underneath her skirt.

Ritsu raised an eyebrow as she witness Mio borrowing her fashion style without permission. It's as if they had a uniform swap. "Ah, whatever. Time for us to practice."

Ritsu went to her drums, and felt the burn. "It's so warm around the waist." There was a reason why she dressed the way she did. It allowed maximum air circulation when she played the drums and set the tempo. Having the jacket buttoned and the shirt tucked, therefore, made playing the drums uncomfortable and even unsuitable.

Yui and Tsumugi pointed out another flaw. "Don't spread your legs!"

"But I can't help it when I am drumming!" she cried, flailing for her life. Both of them were restricted to practicing in their new layouts, at least until practice ended.

Both Mio and Ritsu went home, together, as the evening welcomed these star-crossed lovers with a slight touch of the autumn wind. They were still dressed in their new layouts. "This still bothers me," Ritsu said to Mio. "Geez."

"This also feels too light around my waist." The fear for Mio was that the girls would see her toned midriff and her mound of Venus if she went like this to school the following day. For her adoring fans—especially Youko the Miologist—her level of sexiness would rise to dangerous nosebleed-worthy heights. "Hey Ritsu."

"Mio?"

"Should we go tell Jun and the others that we want to bail out of this thing?"

Ritsu stood still, thinking about the question that was posed. They had gotten this far; it would be bad timing for them to cut clean from this production.

"R...Ritsu?" She wanted an answer.

A snap. "GYAAAAAAH!" Ritsu opened her jacket and untucked her shirt, to Mio's surprise. "Tucking this shirt in is too fucking stuffy! Hey Mio, fix your shirt and your jacket, and undo your ponytail. I'm tired of this bullshit!"

"Huh?"

"We have an intense practice awaiting us."

"Eh?"

Ritsu was a motivated figured in the early evening. "How can we let these fools laugh at us and not show these unbelievers what we are all about?"

"Guess that's fine by me." Mio fixed herself up.

"It's completely not fine, you idiot!" she screamed. "Let's do this! For us, for our club, and for the school!" Ritsu raised her hands to the sky, her determination knowing no limits as she touched the face of God, her tomboy mentality that defined her so well restored to its full capacity. "It's Go Time!" she roared.

"Ehhhhhhhhh?" Mio wailed to heavens. She was coming to terms with the cruel reality: there was no turning back.

* * *

Back at the Tainaka house, Ritsu set the wheels in motion as her brother Satoshi stood witness. Mio followed her to the living room. Satoshi was playing NCAA Football 11. His created school, Ritsumeikan, was destroying Cam Newton and Auburn, 66-21, in the fourth quarter. "You're practicing for a play?" he asked. "You?"

"Correct-a-mundo," she said, "so don't come in my room."

"Heh. Like I would want to. Anyway, who are you gonna be?"

Her lips were pursed, and her eyes were suspicious. "Juliet." The new caused Satoshi to spit out the cola he was drinking. "Satoshi! You're going to have to clean that up, bro! And stop laughing!"

"Sorry, sorry, I couldn't help myself," he said.

"The hell you couldn't!" Ritsu snapped with a pout. Satoshi knew that his sister playing such a role made no sense and Ritsu knew it was coming, but this was just rubbing it in.

"Touchdown, huge play!" the television said, in the voice of Brad Nessler.

* * *

Inside Ritsu's bedroom, they went over the script "How silver-sweet sound lovers' tongues by night, like softest music to attending ears!" Mio read.

"No good, no good!" Ritsu exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"You will not be a star reading like that."

Mio was starting to lose patience. "Who do you think you are, Ritsu? Whatever, do your part."

"Right, right. Can't be helped." She opened her script, standing on her bed. "'Tis almost morning. I would have thee gone-And yet no farther than a wanton's bird, that lets it hop a little from her hand, like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves, and with a silk thread plucks it back again, so loving-jealous of his liberty."

Mio laughed and had to clutch a dakimakura to keep her sanity in order. "You're not doing it right, either. You are soooo not her!"

"Don't laugh, you freak! At least I get my lines right!"

"We both do, we're reading from the script! But you...you...! Ahahahahah!" Romeo and Juliet was not meant to be a comedy along the lines of the Comedy of Errors. Mio was hysterical.

"Oh, get a grip of yourself, love." Ritsu took notice of a trinket with the big nose and mustache that Mio had an obsession with. She was sweating, and was a bit scared of her ladyfriend's tastes for the unusual. "Mother fucker..."

* * *

"This sucks," Ritsu said after three hours of practicing had passed. "I can't do this crap. At all."

Mio was equally exhausted. "I managed to memorize the lines, but still..."

"And you were laughing way too much."

"I was not. But your Juliet is..." She was still laughing.

"Freak, you're still laughing again? I can't believe it!" She got up. "But your Romeo, too. It was also off."

"Heheheheh, what about it?"

"You look too uneasy, and it doesn't seem like anyone wants to follow what you are saying!" She pushed her off the bed to knock her back to her senses.

"Owww! Well, Ritsu, you know I can't help these types of things. I do feel very uneasy, though."

"Jeez, you should have been Juliet, not me."

"Eh?"

Ritsu got back up again. "You have to act a bit uneasy...you have to feel who you are." Here she goes, playing her part. "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name! Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet."

"I'm not like that," Mio said.* "Oh, and you should have been Romeo." Nonetheless, she had to play along. "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief that thou her maid art far more fair than she."

"As if Romeo would ever talk like that," Ritsu said with a frown. However, both of them were getting the idea loud and clear.

"But that style fits you better than Juliet's," Mio explained as she extracted another of her lines. "My love, that first did prompt me to enquire. He lent me counsel, and I lent him eyes. I am no pilot; yet, wert thou as far as that vast shore wash'd with the farthest sea, I would adventure for such merchandise."

Juliet blinked. "Huh?"

So did Mio. "Eh?"

It was clicking. "That's the way right there! Perfect!"

"And your Juliet earlier was right on the money, too!"

"Yes, yes! We are right on it!" Hugging each other, they went back and practiced a little more.

* * *

The following day, more practice was in order in their track outfits. Toshimi, acting as the Nurse to Juliet, spoke. "Hie to your chamber. I'll find Romeo to comfort you. I wot well where he is. Hark ye, your Romeo will be here at night. I'll to him; he is hid at Laurence' cell."

"O, find him! give this ring to my true knight And bid him come to take his last farewell," Ritsu said.

Nobuyo was impressed by the improved spontaneity. "Ehhhhh, that is much better."

Ushio weighed in. "Ritsu is picturing a Juliet acted by Mio..."

Mika joined in the punditry. "And Mio-chan is acting the same way Ricchan would act Romeo?"

"This is confusing me like crazy," Haruko deadpanned.

Nobuyo turned to her left. "So, Mio will..."

Tsumugi initiated a scene involving Mio and Chika, who was playing as Friar Laurence. "God pardon sin! Wast thou with Rosaline?" Chika asked.

"W-With Rosaline, my ghostly father? No. I have forgot that name, and that name's...woe..."

"So soft!" the others said in shock.

"Hey Mio, you did everything right last night. What's going on?"

"B-But...only you were around then."

A bead of sweat came down Ritsu's head. "Hey love, you didn't have to say that in front of the choir, you know."

"Well, pretend only Ricchan's around," Tsumugi said, as Himeko, Ui and Yoshimi formed trees.

"Only Ritsu?" Mio asked, looking around and visualizing a harem of Ritsu's before going back into RoMio mode. "This would be noisy," she said to herself.

"Don't laugh at me!" the Ritsu's in her imagination shot back to her.

Jun walked over, jotting down some notes and anecdotes leading up to the play. "So all she needs to do is overcome her stage fright, right?" she asked Mugi.

"That's pretty much it, Jun. And that gives me an idea! Hey Mio-chan, are you free this Sunday?"

"Eh? Why do you ask?"

"I'm going to go ahead and hold a special training session for you."

Mio objected. "What? F...For me?"

"So what are you gonna do?" Ritsu asked Mugi.

"Well, here's the details," she said, whispering the bits and pieces to her. "Maid cafe work. We're going to bring out the awesomeness in Mio-chan right here" Ui heard every word she was saying and nodded.

"That sounds great," Ritsu said. "I love it. Let's do it."

Mio didn't like the sound of this. "O-Oh! I have plans that day—"

Too late now. "Miss Akiyama!" the class said in objection.

"Crap." The reputation of Class 3-2 was riding on her shoulders, after all.

"Fine, I'll do it." Such a proper girl.

Even though Azusa was a second-year student and therefore not part of the play, she was brought in as a guest because of her ties to the band. They got here via limousine, First, Mio and Ritsu were picked up, then Ui, and finally Azusa. It was spacious, grand, and a sight for sore eyes.

"What the heck is this place?" Mio asked, the others except Mugi in predictable awe.

"A cafe run by one of my good friends from way back when," Tsumugi said.

"A cafe?"

"Correct. We're gonna be working here today."

"Wicked," Ui said.

"How is this going to work?" Azusa asked.

Mugi placed a finger to her lips. "You'll. Find. Out."

"Exactly," Ritsu said, snapping her fingers with a thumbs up. "You'll be serving to guests to help you overcome your stage fright."

Mio really didn't like the sound of this. "Okay," Mugi said to the crew, "let's get going!"

Inside the staff-only room, the girls changed into their maid outfits. "Azusa-chan, you look good in that."

"You think so?" she asked. "Good thing this fits me. Mugi-sempai, you look really cute, too."

"I work here every now and then, so I get that all the time. Thanks."

"And Ritsu-sempai, you too—"

She looked at herself, feeling a bit out of place. Azusa laughed again. "Hey you punk, if you've got something to say then spit it out already!"

"Hmmmm," Ui said, looking at herself. "This feels a bit tight along my bust."

"Same here," Mio said, looking at her shoulder.

"Hey Mugi," Azusa said, "you did tell the fitters here what our three sizes were for each of us, right?"

"Yes, but they told me we're in a growth spurt, so it may not be perfect," Tsumugi said.

"Guys, where do you feel it tight?" Ritsu asked them.

"Well, it's around the waist for me," Mio said.

"Tight around the bust," Ui added.

Mio cowered to a corner of the room, acknowledging that she had gained a few more pounds. "You need to cut off the sweet stuff," Ritsu said, rubbing it in as expected.

"You all right, Mio-chan?"

She wasn't. "God...please kill me now..." Mio, ease up woman! You will live! Believe in yourself!

* * *

"Yes, these are my friends," Tsumugi said. "Mr. Hatta, this is Miss Ritsu Tainaka, Miss Azusa Nakano and Miss Ui Hirasawa."

"Splendid. Well, thank you very much for helping us today at Cafe Paradiso," an old gentleman said. "My name is Mr. Hideaki Hatta, the owner of this place. We have a small number of guests, and our regular staff is not needed, but it is good that you are helping us out at this point in time."

"Thank you," they all said, bowing.

"It may take a while to become accustomed to how you do your job, but I know that you will be quick learners and do it well. Among the basics, it is important to smile and be friendly and welcoming towards our guests."

"Yes, sir!" Tsumugi said with a nod.

Azusa was a bit uneasy. "Smile..." This was unusual for her. Not so much the case for Tsumugi, who worked here before...about six months ago on a similar weekend.

"Hey Azunyan, let's give this a go," Ui said to her.

"Oh, yeah, right."

They both turned to the others. "Welcome," Ui said, tilting her head to the left a little.

"Please come again," Azusa said, following suit with the head tilt. Jun would be fit to do something like this, for sure.

"All right, all right," Ritsu said, "that's cute enough."

"Splendid, splendid," Tsumugi added, her hands together. "You got it down pat!"

"Naturals," Mr. Hatta said. "They're naturals at this."

"Okay Ricchan, you try it," said Ritsu, who realized that she was going to eat her words of enthusiasm earlier, if not already.

"Eh?" Yes, she was munching them up. "Let's see, uh..." It was embarrassing. Too embarrassing. She was about to lose her sanity as the world around her began to melt like vanilla ice cream. Ritsu was sweating, and her mouth was beginning to twitch on its own. "Thank you for your patience," she said, her head tilted to the right, pantomiming holding a tray of tea and sweets. "Here's is your apple tea."

"There you go," Azusa said. "You're very cute, Ritsu-sempai! I love it!"

"That's the Ricchan we like to see," Ui agreed, applauding.

"Oh fuck off, both of you!" Ritsu said, an anger vein throbbing in the back of her head. Azusa laughed. "Nakano!"

Ui noticed the change in mood. "Gracious, Ricchan is Ricchan, and her old habit is dying hard! Mercy!"

"By the way," asked Mr. Hatta, "where is Miss Mio Akiyama?"

"Sorry. You see, Miss Akiyama is a bit shy and I think is hiding somewhere." Ritsu was looking around.

"Captain, I have news!" Ui said, her ears perked, pointing to the hall. "She is hiding over there. A Master Is Out!"

Mio was in "A Master Is Out" mode and wanted no part in the proceedings. "Ugggghhh..."

"Hey, hey, look," Ritsu said, walking over to her at the door, "you can't practice like that. Let's go,, princess."

"I'll pass. You don't need that many waitresses to crowd the floor anyway."

"This is practice for you, and you alone. We're just here to help out cause we're your fellow club/band members, and it's our duty."

"F...Fine." She had to swallow her shyness, sooner or later.

"Time for me to open up the cafe, then," Mr. Hatta said. A queue of guests were waiting outside. "Welcome guests, please be seated."

"Thank you for your patience," Azusa said, serving a guest a cup of tea. "Here is your green tea."

"I would like two slices of this cake and an Earl Grey," said a guest to Tsumugi.

"I will have that for you shortly. Thank you," she said.

"So that will be one slice of strawberry cheesecake and a tall mocha?" Ui asked a guest at another table.

"Yes."

"Thank you, I will have order available for you in a moment."

Mio looked at the three of them with amazement, exasperated. Ritsu looked at her with a confused glare. "How do they do it? It looks so perfect," she said in her self-imposed defeat.

"You can say they've become accustomed to it all because of a certain someone."

"Who might that be? You don't think Miss Sawako is behind all this?" That was a good possibility.

"Excuse me?" a customer asked Mio. "Can I get assistance?"

"Hurry, they want you inside," Ritsu said.

"Eh?"

"Go and...get 'em!"

A shove, and Mio was thrust into the limelight.

This was going to be a challenge she had to overcome. "U...um...er...have a nice day!" she said, bowing.

"Oh, but we just got here," said one of the guests Mio was attending to. She and her friend were looking at Mio with very confused looks.

"May we place our order?" asked her friend to Mio.

"Eh?" She was trying to get her pen, but couldn't find it. "Huh? Where is it?"

"Don't worry, ma'am, we're not in a rush," said one of the guests.

"Sorry, could you wait one moment please?" Mio asked the two of them before heading to the Ui. "Ui, can I borrow something to write with?"

"Yes, I do have a pen. Here," she said, offering one.

"You idiot! Why the hell do you have cheese in your pocket?"

"Whoops. One of the chefs in the back gave it to me, sorry. Want it?"

"Absolutely not. Oh God, help me. I need something to write with! Do you have a pen? That's what I am asking you here."

"No, this actually is a pen shaped like a stick of cheese. It's one of the custom made pens here at Cafe Paradiso. See? Just press this button." A press, and a stylus came out.

"That is so confusing! Whatever, gimme that."

"Totus tuus, all yours sweetheart." Mio took the pen.

Ritsu, Azusa and Tsumugi looked on from the door. Ritsu and Azusa had some devious faces, while Mugi felt captivated by the spectacle. "Comedy pair...locked on," Ritsu said to the two of them.

"They definitely are a pair," Azusa added.

"Refreshing," Tsumugi said.

Ritsu looked at the two guests Mio was helping out. "Do you think they're high schoolers, Mako?" asked one of the guests to her friend back at the table.

"Pretty much, Hiromi." And the cat was out of the bag. "But they look pretty cute, don't they?"

Mako agreed. "Charming. I'm so glad we came here."

Ritsu looked at Mio, who was still in an argument with Ui over the semantics of a mere cheese stick-shaped ballpoint pen before procuring beverages for her guests.

"Th...Thank you for your patience," Mio said, precariously setting a tea for Hiromi and a latte for Mako.

"Thank you," Mako said with a nod. "Are you all right?"

"Yes I am, thank you for your concern. Excuse me." She bowed before going to the back.

Mio hung her head in shame as she went back to the hall. Tsumugi was bringing some used dishes to the kitchen to be cleaned when she caught sight of her friend's depressive state. "Is something wrong?" Mugi asked. "Are you all right, Mio-chan?"

"Yeah."

The fact that she helped out a couple of guests for the first time was an emotional rollercoaster. It was nothing for the others and Ui was actually helping out at every table, checking on how the others are doing, even talking with them about how the food is and if they wanted to order more. Ui took the bull by the horns and even Tsumugi was impressed by her dedication. Azusa was not far behind. Tsumugi was doing her share in the background, and Ritsu was getting by with her fake smile and demeanor. Eventually, it had to come in naturally for best results.

Still, for Mio, it was a struggle. Tsumugi noticed the look on her face and she was doubting if this was a good idea for her to come to Cafe Paradiso and help out as a way to overcome her shyness. So far, it was backfiring big-time, and a huge turnaround had to be on the cards.

"I still can't get used to it," Mio confessed. "And I'm getting in people's way."

"How about this: try treating our guests like they are good friends of yours."

"Good friends, huh?"

"I noticed that Ui-chan, Azusa-chan and even Ricchan are treating our customers like they have seen them around the school, around town, everywhere every day...that sort of thing. I gave the same suggestion to the others, and it worked. You can do the same. Try it."

Mio visualized the whole thing as if she was catering to Ui's sister Yui and Ritsu. "Let's see...I'll have a parfait, a cake, some vanilla ice cream, and then, let's see here...can you give me a minute to look at the other options?" Yui asked.

"Sure," Mio said. "And what will our other guest have?"

"Give me an extra-large pudding plate!" Ritsu said.

"Uh, I'm sorry, but we cannot take an order like that here; feel free to choose from the other options we have on the menu."

"Oh, but you can, right? I thought this was a maid cafe and you can order whatever you want."

"Well, we do have limitations as per our policy, I'm sorry."

"No, you can, you just have to add extra pudding..."

"This is starting to piss me off big-time," Mio said to Tsumugi.

"Oh. I see." Maybe that wouldn't work, given how Ritsu was. For Mio, those were the last people on earth she wanted to attend to. Mio never wanted to work as a waitress to begin with. It was low-paying, she would be dealing with insistent customers who want to abuse her, and it was a job that had a high turnover rate because of the stated reasons above.

Mugi tried to calm her down. "Come on, now, we have to get to work here."

Ritsu looked on, wondering about the latest developments regarding her love. "Looks like she's having a hard time getting used to it," Azusa said to her, watching as well.

"She is, she is, she is. And we should not be at all surprised by any of this because that's how she is, Azusa." Ritsu raised an eyebrow. "On stage, she's not even half as good as she usually is."

"Well, here's the thing, guys," said Ui, returning from dropping her set of dishes to the kitchen. "She's been getting the job done with flying colors at our concerts. So I don't understand why she can't convert the same bravado and effort as an actress on stage. Besides, she can also sing."

"Good points," Azusa said to her.

Ritsu thought about it. "Because she's in a pinch at...hold on. Reeeeewind. We also know that Mio can do it when she is under pressure. When everything is on the line, she delivers in the clutch. If we can put her in a situation like that where everything is on the line, I think we will see the true Mio Akiyama the whole school—no, the whole COMMUNITY—has been dying to see."

Mr. Hatta came over to the three of them. "Ladies."

"The guests are dwindling, so you may go ahead and take a break." Tsumugi didn't need to bring tea and cakes; as her father owned a minority share of the cafe, they would provide the refreshments at no charge.

A wave of relief came to Ritsu's face. "Okay, thank you, sir." Mio was no longer feeling embarrassed, but rather angry. Something had to come out, and Tsumugi was the first to notice that Mio's current mood wasn't exactly a friendly one. She was wearing an outfit that was too tight around the waist. She was embarrassed and couldn't help her first two customers properly. And to top it off, she noticed that Ui, in spite of doing her job, was slacking off on her watch. They were building on top of one another, and it got to a point where the camel's back had to be broken and enough is enough.

"Miss Akiyama and Miss Tsumugi, you may also take a break," Mr. Hatta said.

"Don't worry about Mio." Mio was surprised. "She'll be all right. She's here for training, so don't give her any breaks."

"Eh?" Mio was stunned.

Mr. Hatta raised his eyebrows. "Hmmm, okay. Fair enough if this is training for her."

Mio could not hide her state of consternation. "Ritsu, what the hell are you doing!"

"Whoa, that's a bit harsh, Ricchan," Ui said to Ritsu. "I'm not sure that's smart on your part."

Azusa was also concerned. "Ritsu-sempai, are you sure this is all right?"

"I believe it is," she said to the two of them. "See you later! Let's go, ladies. Break time."

Azusa was up in arms. "Ritsu-sempai, that is so mean to leave her alone like that!"

"Trust me," she assured her kouhai. "She needs this more than we do. I got my part down pat. She hasn't. It's a fact. Therefore, she needs this," Ritsu said with a wink. "Got it, sunshine?"

Azusa conceded. "If you say so. But you're gonna get it from her if it doesn't work."

"Just remember those three words Mr. Obama said on that cold day in Chicago: Yes We Can. In her case, it's Yes, She Can. Ui, Mugi, let's roll."

"Yes, ma'am!" Tsumugi said. "Good luck, Mio."

"You people make me sick," she said to her friends heading on break. "Stupid Ritsu, dammit!" Of course, she would have no problem adjusting, and went on to help 30 more customers. Fueled by anger, driven by determination...Mio Akiyama, a maid on a mission.

"I like the food here," Ui said, handing her cleaned dish to one of the staff members at the kitchen. "It's what you would expect at a maid cafe."

"Like that, huh?" Tsumugi said. "I think the people who make the food and beverages here know their shtick."

"Really good food," Azusa said.

Ritsu nodded. "Love it, love it."

"I also like the teacups here," Ui said, examining the details. "All handmade, and no chips of paint.

"All the plates and drinking utensils were made with fine china imported from Europe and don't contain any lead or mercury, so you are getting an environmentally-friendly experience," Tsumugi explained.

"Hmmmm."

"You don't say," Ritsu replied sheepishly.

"I just did."

"Yes, you just did."

"Along with the mansion, this is where I get the tea and the cakes for our meetings. My father is a good friend is a business partner of Mr. Hatta and owns a minority share of the cafe. He has allowed me to bring this for you. Every weekend, we have the staff at the combine procure the tea and cakes, and I bring them from my house to the music room."

"I see what you did there," Ritsu said.

"That's because I told you."

"Yes, you just told us. Wait a minute. Let me look at the menu here." She took a gander.

"Looking at the menu, Ricchan?" Ui asked.

"Mmm-hmmmm."

"I wanna see."

"Get your own." No sooner has Ritsu said that when she turned to stone after verifying it. "Mother of my pearls! I really saw what you did there!" The same food at the meetings was brought to the same guests. All the desserts that were on the house were on it. All of the tea and coffee varieties were on it. Even the unusual black jello that was made for the school 5K marathon was on the menu, to go with their preferred strawberry layer cake. Was this a part-time job, or a club meeting tea-time session mixed in? Or was it a dead heat? All these thoughts were racing through Ritsu's stone-faced mine.

Ui showed a look of concern. "Hey Ricchan, are you okay?"

"These items...are expensive!" The same food that was served at the meetings ran from 2,000 yen for a single item all the way up to 10,000 yen for a set meal. That meant that these were affluent people—celebrities, for crying out loud!—that came to the cafe. One of the people Mio was attending to was a member of the Imperial Household, seated next to a relative of Naoto Kan. Ritsu could not believe that the food served at the meeting were of a high quality that was catered to the social elite of the country. Furthermore, the cafe earned a Michelin star for its service and high quality. It was a shame that there weren't so many people; else a huge paycheck would be on the way for the club. But there was going to be a huge paycheck nonetheless because 1. there were people with deep pockets willing to savor the snacks at Paradiso and 2. Tsumugi Kotobuki was footing the bill.

"You mean to tell me that you never saw the prices?" Ui asked her. She, Azusa, Mio and, of course, Mugi, did. Perhaps this was another reason Mio was shy in this case...she was attending to some prominent figures. Talk about setting the bar high.

"News flash, guys," Azusa said, "we've been downing some pretty expensive tea."

"So, in saying that...will Mio-chan really be all right? She looked like she was in a big pinch. Wanna go help her?"

Ritsu nodded. "Well, she was feeling pressured, and didn't I tell you that when she has her back to the wall, she gets the job done? I think we're in good hands and everything will be all right."

"Please come again," Mio said, bowing to the last two guests leaving the cafe. They were a couple of movie celebrities set to marry in six months and were engaged.

Ritsu, Ui, Azusa and Tsumugi looked past their shoulders to see how Mio was doing. Seemed positive on first impressions. Mio saw them off with a smile and a slight nod.

"You're right," Ui said to Ritsu. "It worked. Well done, Mio. Handshakes, Ricchan?"

"Please. I told you so." Exchanges between the four.

"And the perfect smile, too!" Azusa noted.

"Right on, right on," Mugi concurred.

Mio closed the door and took a deep breath. "Hey Mio-chan," Ui said to her. "Good work! That was awesome." But Mio was frozen. "Mio-chan? You all right?"

She fainted. "Did she pass out again?" Azusa said to the others. "Someone call a doctor!"

Tsumugi chuckled hesitantly. "Oh my."

Ritsu went to her and gave her a kiss. "Mio! Hang in there! Mio! Forgive me for what I did to you my love! Give me back my sin again!" Another kiss by the book. Regardless, she did her part, better than Ui, some will say. When it comes to service, Mio Akiyama was THE natural.

* * *

Monday morning came, and the continuing preparations for Class 3-2 got kicked up a notch. "Good morning everyone," Mio said to Mugi, Ritsu and Ui, who were amazed. "How are you guys?"

"She still has the perfect smile," Ui said to the two next to her.

"Hm?"

"It was worth the training," Ritsu said to Mugi and Ui.

"She even got pretty good at serving the guests near the end, according to Mr. Hatta," Ui said. "I think she served along the lines of 30 people."

"Wow."

"Yeah, I don't think I will have a problem with having guests anymore," Mio said.

Tsumugi put her hands together. "Really? Fabulous."

"Anyway, about this face..."

"Yeah, what about it?" Ritsu asked her.

"It's been frozen like this since yesterday, and it won't return. I can't even open my eyes."

"Then how the heck were you able to go home?"

"I believe you guided me, based on my recollection from last night. Then I had to feel my way around the house."

"Unbelievable," Tsumugi said.

"Ricchan, you overdid yourself right here," Ui said to her.

"Damn. Damn, damn, damn. So it was that hard on you? I'm sorry. I'm no plastic surgeon, but class, allow me to do a face lift on the future star of the show. Here we go."

Youko and Fumie watched Ritsu pinch their idol's tender cheeks. Youko was biting her finger.

After a minute of pinching, Mio opened her eyes. "That's better. Anyway, as I was saying, I don't think I will have a problem with guests anymore."

"There's the Mio-chan we all know," Ui said.

"Splendid," Ui said. "She's back, ladies and gentlewomen! Give it up for our RoMio, Miss Mio Akiyama!" The others applauded.

"No need to put me on a pedestal yet, we still have to practice for the play later today," Mio said.

"I love you, Akiyama-san!" Youko hollered.

"You go, girl!" Mika added.

"Thanks, thanks," she replied to both of them.

"All right, that means you should be in good shape when we do our play," Ritsu said with a smirk

"Uh, no I'm not."

"What?" they all exclaimed, even the people outside the four of them in the room.

"You know, serving guests and putting on stage plays are two different animals. Different, with a capital D. Call me crazy, but it's the truth."

"This was totally not worth the training," Ritsu said to Mugi. "It's official, Mugi. It backfired."

"But you got the perfect smile down," Ui said to her. "What happened?"

"A...And maybe it'll work out now," Tsumugi said, trying to conduct damage control.

"I'm not so sure. We'll just have to wait and see."

Ritsu smiled at Mio before giving her another kiss that wowed the other students in the room. Ui and Mugi looked at each other and laughed. Even Ritsu had to admit that Mio did have a point with her realistic take on the whole Sunday ordeal.

Back at the music room, the club meeting was cancelled due to the lack of quorum. Mugi was checking the script and the direction, and the other two were doing what they needed. Azusa needed to get filled in on the news as she took out a stand to work on her music. "So, Mio-sempai and Ritsu-sempai are..."

"Absolutely," Ui said, stretching her arms and holding still like a tree. "Tree "G" says, to its lover and its ladyfriend, on a Monday afternoon where the birds sing and the bust of the founder watches, that Mio-chan and Ricchan, our sisters in rock, as well as Mugi-chan, the financial vein of our club's existence, are increasing their rehearsal time twofold and upwards and proceedeth over their lines in the final advance for perfection and consistency in their rendition of Romeo and Juliet, written by the great bard William Shakespeare."

"You don't have to come up with your own lines, Ui-sempai, you're a tree."

"Not just any tree...Tree 'G.'"

"But don't trees have to be silent?"

"This tree speaks to you, and you alone, as it watches steadfastly over our happy home."

Azusa looked at her part in the song "U&I" and played it to pass the time. She looked at Ui with suspicion. "You can do your tree thing later, or most preferably at home. Can we practice please?"

"This tree has finished speaking to you. Go in peace. And so...I will exit the stage in silence once the curtain is down," Ui said, tiptoeing out quickly.

"I wonder if we will be okay for the concert after all this," Azusa asked herself, as she continued to look at her score and proceed with the usual internalization of the progressions. No doubt about it, one of the most defining moments for the light music club was just around the corner.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 18**


	19. You Shook Me All Night Long

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 19:**

**You Shook Me All Night Long**

* * *

Tomi Ichimonji was Ui and Yui's grandmother on their mother's side, and was doing the usual sweeping on the sidewalk, when the phone rang. News from some familiar connections.

"Yes?" she asked, picking up the phone. "Yes, this is Mrs. Tomi Ichimonji...Ah! It's you, my wonderful daughter; I thought you were somebody else. How are you, my child...I'm doing just great. How is Berlin...Good, good...what is it...Oh, splendid, splendid! You have quite a heart, I am so proud of you...oh yes, I will tell Ui-chan and Yui-chan the news and give them some of your money you're giving me, how about that...okay, okay...yes, tell your wonderful husband I said hello and all the best in your venture down there. And thank you so much for the remittance. I'll talk to your later. Buh-bye."

Grandma Tomi clasped her hands and decided to walk over to the neighborhood grocer to stock up on some food, now that the latest batch of cash came to her card. A leap, a click of the heels, and a skip.

Meanwhile, the students in Class 3-2 were given a history lesson in the conduct and ways of the 16th century Renaissance prior to the day of the festival. The Elizabethan period and the Renaissance was a different time, with different ways of doing business. Sawako gave her students a crash course in etiquette and speaking, among the basics, and she even demonstrated how to speak in English with a British lisp. It was already a challenge for the students to learn English in school, but to speak like how it was done on the BBC? A completely different animal in itself.

But they needed to know this, so that they would have a deeper appreciation for their roles in the play. Even though Ui was a tree, she was found speaking in a dignified manner to her fellow students—too dignified for some, including Ritsu. In the end, as a compromise, the students involved in the play chose to speak Japanese, but in a manner similar to the Edo period. In this they were emulating the efforts of the Takarazuka Revue, an all-female troupe of performers based out of Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture. The Revue was known for their renditions of every play, every drama, and every musical known to man. Well, almost. But for all intents and purposes, the most popular ones.

Finally, the day came in all its glory. Azusa Nakano and Nodoka Manabe decided to make a last-minute stopover for the FamilyMart to grab some food as part of an errand. Azusa and Nodoka were doing a different act as members of Class 2-1: they were providing concessions in the quad.

"Welcome," the clerk said, welcoming an old lady passing by. He turned to Jun and Azusa. "Welco..."

Azusa looked at him with suspicious eyes. She was becoming a hit with the girls in second-year, but the people at the Boys Campus caught wind of her popularity and were riding on the coattails of their female counterparts. She then turned to Nodoka. "Hey Nodoka, over here. I think this is the tea we need, right?"

The clerk looked on with a smile, as if his dreams to see a girl who could not be as cute as she was fulfilled.

"That'll do, and I think we need some sugar," Nodoka added.

"Excuse me," the old lady said while holding a sweet bean bun, "I would like to purchase this."

"Yes, I will go help you," he said. "That will be 120 yen. Sorry, I was sidetracked."

"No problem, no harm done," she said with a smile that showed no teeth. The clerk gulped.

"Thank you, have a good day."

"Hey Nodoka," Azusa said to her, "Go get a basket."

"Roger that, Azusa."

She inspected the area for some more supplies. "We need some toothpicks, too, and this, and this."

After a half-hour, all the food and drink procured. "I would like to purchase this, please," Azusa said to the clerk.

"Hello," he said, eyes still fixated on the two of them in a trancelike state.

"Could we get a receipt?"

"And address to Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus, Class 2-1."

"Yes, dear girls, I will." With quick precision, he did the number-crunching, and printed out the papers.

"Don't forget the purpose," Azusa said to Nodoka. "Go ahead and write down, 'school festival refreshment booth,' mister."

"'School festival refreshment booth,'" the clerk said, writing before bagging the goods. "Okay, you ladies are set."

"Thank you," Azusa said to the clerk. She and Nodoka bowed.

"Good luck and have fun!"

"We will!" Nodoka replied, waving to the clerk before they took off for the school.

* * *

Clear skies and very few clouds in sight were in the forecast for what was slated to be a day to be remembered at the school. Today not only marked the day Class 3-2, the strongest of the third-year classes, provided their rendition of Romeo and Juliet, but it also marked the final concert for the ladies of Hokago Tea Time, the band of the light music club at Sakuragaoka for the 2008-09, 2009-10, and 2010-11 school years.

Sawako Yamanaka, the instructor for Class 3-2 and the official club advisor, not only purchased the outfits for the entire cast, but made a special order for 3,000 HTT shirts in sizes of XS, S, M, L XL, and XXL. The design was relatively simple: a white tee with the band's initials in pink with a black border over a light blue star with a gold outline. It was cost-effective, and the factory that was responsible for this could mass-produce the shirts in one day without delays. Miss Sawako didn't expect the shirts to sell out within two hours, but they would.

A few stalls had flags with Hokago Tea Time's badge, which featured a crown with a heart, a cup of tea and a treble clef among its motifs. These would be waved in the air by fans attending the concert on Sunday afternoon. Signs and banners thanking HTT for placing the school's relevancy on the map were being made and would be set aside on the day of the play. The Mio fans club was creating signs that showed their undying support for Mio Akiyama. In fact, every member of the band had their own bastion of supporters, but Mio's naturally, had the most.

Many famous politicians and celebrities were at the school festival. The governor of Tokyo Prefecture, Shintarou Ishihara, was on hand and he also bought one of the shirts, as was the governor of Kyoto Prefecture, Keiji Yamada, who purchased two. The turnout would set an all-time high for the turnout in the history of either the Girls Campus or the Boys Campus (who were doing a similar school festival there). Many were there to see Romeo and Juliet. Most were there to see Hokago Tea Time.

Even channels like NHK were set to televise this concert. Up until then, the school had never been shown live on TV; however, the concert was to be broadcast nationally on NHK, TBS and Fuji TV and would be seen by over 100 million people in Japan and Korea via satellite. Tourists who came to the school festival had their cameras ready to take photos of the band, and members of the foreign press were on hand to witness firsthand the power and intensity that was Hokago Tea Time. This was a pretty big deal, and the school administration knew it. The floodgates were opening.

There would be a big crowd on Saturday, but on Sunday, the crowd would get even bigger. In fact, there would be closed circuit television across campus for the public to watch in case they didn't have tickets to the concert.

"I think we should have gotten some milk," Azusa asked Nodoka. "What do you think?"

"Limitations are limitations. It couldn't be helped. I think later on, we can head back there. We should head there only if we are low."

"Suppose you're right, but still..."

"Que sera, sera," Nodoka sang.

"Whatever will be, will be..."

Now they both combined. "The future's not ours to see..." And they broke out in laughter.

"It's all a frenzy, isn't it?" Azusa said to Nodoka. "I mean, even the local news stations are going to cover this event and tourists are here taking photos of everything. I mean, you can't even move around until you've had your photo taken with those gaijin. Crazy stuff!"

"This is a pretty big festival, it's not like the other ones. You guys must have done something to draw the attention of the masses. I hear that some people around the world are complying what you're doing."

"Awww, really? We haven't even graduated and already we're larger than life! Goddamn."

"And besides, you have to expect this type of stuff on Day 1 of this thing. This is a two-day ordeal, and it's the hustle and the bustle and the chaos that binds that make it a fun experience, you know?"

Azusa sighed as she watched some cameramen film the area in the distance. This was going to be one strenuous stretch. She looked at a sign by the auditorium door.

"Hm? What's that you're looking at?" Nodoka meant to find out. "Is there something wrong?"

Azusa continued to scan the poster. She sighed, coming to terms with the whole situation. Class 3-2 was scheduled to perform at 1:45 p.m. JST. However, the cameras were getting ready inside to provide streaming live coverage of the school festival on the official news websites beginning at 8:00 a.m. JST, and the televised portion of the festival would take place at 1:30 p.m. JST to 3:00 p.m. JST.

Class 1-5 was the best of the first-year classes, and was up first with their act taking place from 9:00-9:30 a.m. JST. Then, it was the third-year's turn to continue the show. Class 3-1's act of Sleeping Beauty was from 9:45-10:45 a.m. JST, Class 3-4's skit, Trois Couleurs, was at 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. JST, Class 3-3 was at it with Little Women from 12:30-1:30 p.m. JST, and after 3-2, Class 3-5 wrapped up the show with Another Time from 3:15-4:00 p.m. JST. Class 3-2's play was the longest of the set, and as such was regarded as the headline act.

"To the classroom, then," Nodoka said to Azusa.

"Got it," she replied, worried about the performance that would officially close the school festival. Hokago Tea Time closed the school festival during their first year and their second year, so it was fitting that they made their curtain call. And a long set of their favorites was on the way for their burgeoning group of fans. The School Festival was alive and kicking.

* * *

Donuts, photo booths, a dance floor, a haunted house, a maid cafe and all the other curiosities were on hand at the School Festival. AC/DC was playing in the background, among other mainstream rock bands played by the first-year students manning the PA speakers. Of course, the ubiquitous JPop and JRock tracks were played on the intercom, too.

A local news anchorwoman was on the scene. "Hello, this is Rika Ichizawa here at Sakuragaoka High School, talking with some fans of the performances that will be taking place at this festival. Your name?"

"My name is Tomoyo Okazaki, electrician from Setagaya Ward."

"What brings you here to the event?"

"I brought my wife Nagisa and my daughter Ushio to the event. She wants to see Juliet, I want to see Romeo."

"Oh, you are looking forward to Class 3-2's play, then."

"My wife does not know who to cheer for, but I think she is going to cheer on Ui, who is just one of the background characters."

"Here's Ushio-chan. Did you want to say something?"

"Go Jurietsu!" she said in her youthful tone.

"Good one. You see, some of the members in the play are also members of the band Hokago Tea Time, who will play at this same arena tomorrow. Drummer Ritsu Tainaka plays as Juliet, Bassist Mio Akiyama is Romeo, scriptwriter Tsumugi Kotobuki is the band's keyboarder, and the main guitarist, Ui Hirasawa, plays as one of the trees. We have another person with us, what's your name?"

"Kirino Kousaka and this is my big brother Kyousuke. Aniki, say hi."

"Hello," he said.

Rika went on. "What brings you here to the event?"

"I want to see the play, but it's the concert that I, aniki, and every one of my friends will go to that we are excited about. We love Hokago Tea Time, and we are looking forward to seeing them. We are, like, hyped up for this."

"You are, but I'm not," Kyousuke said. Kirino kicked him in the balls. "Owww!"

"Shut up!"

"Who's your favorite player in the band?" Rika asked.

"Azunyan! I love her. She is, like, the greatest guitarist in the world. I hope she wears cat ears to the concert. I love you Azunyan, baby!" Azusa could hear Kirino in the background and shuddered.

"My favorite is Ritsu," Kyousuke said. "I like her drumming."

"Wonderful," Rika said. "Now here are a couple more people with us. What are your names?"

"My name is Yuzuru Otonashi, and this is my fiancée, Kanade Tachibana."

"Oooh, nice, when are you guys gonna get married?"

"Next June," Kanade said in her soft-spoken voice.

"Congratulations," Rika said. "By the way, what brings you here?"

"Kanade loves a good play," Yuzuru said. "She prefers the rendition of 'Little Women' but is actually eager for RomiJuli."

"It seems everybody is talking about this play as the highlight of the day, I wonder why?"

"The main leads are the two most popular characters in the class, which is regarded as the best of all the third-year classes," Kanade replied. "I see some mapo tofu, Yuzuru. Let's get some."

"We'll see you, thanks," Yuzuru said.

"Thank you, oh and we have another one willing to speak with us, your name?"

"Yuri Nakamura."

"What bring you here?"

"I wanted to check out the plays today, then come back for the big HTT concert tomorrow."

"Who's your favorite musician in the band?"

"Ui Hirasawa. She can't sing like my friend Yui, but she can play better than my friend Yui."

"I see. Well, at least the name is close."

She laughed. "And that is the truth."

"One more here with us, what's your name?"

"You don't know me? Um, the ribbon?"

"Oh, you're her! You're...you're..."

"Haruhi Suzumiya, and don't you forget it!"

"That's right! So, what bring you here to the Sakuragaoka High School Festival at the Girls Campus?"

"I remember performing with the band ENOZ with Yuki and these were some pretty awesome memories. To relive them again is an honor."

"Of all the acts that will be performing, who are you looking forward to?"

"Hokago Tea Time, duh. Kyon apparently likes Mio, so I begrudgingly accepted. But this is a band I like. They play some awesome music, and why would I bother watching those boring plays anyway? They are irrelevant to my interests," Haruhi said. "I'm just here for the food today. I and my brigade will be here for the concert tomorrow. And I mean the ENTIRE brigade."

"Who's your favorite band member?"

"Ui Hirasawa. That girl knows how to play and sing. I would love to have her on my band any time."

"And that's the scene out here at the school festival. In 10 minutes, we will have live coverage of all the action streaming online at NHK[dot]jp, and our live telecast will be at 1:30 p.m. on NHK, so don't miss it. Hiroki, back to you..."

* * *

It was a frenzy down at 3-2, as the class was repainting the background, among other things. "The paint peeled off here!" Keiko Sano said, patching up a spot.

"That won't be a problem," Mifuyu Matsumoto replied to her, helping her out.

"Hey, where did we put the dagger?" asked Chizuru Shima.

"Hey Romeo!" hollered Mifuyu to Mio.

"Yo," she replied, internalizing the script one more time amidst the commotion.

"Where did you put the stage dagger?"

Mio froze. "Uh, let's see..." She had no idea. Thinking it was a refresher on her lines, she flipped the script.

"No, you don't need to go through your lines; we just need the prop!"

She gasped. "D...don't talk to me now!" Her head was stuck in her lines. "You'll make me forget the line I just memorized, you fool!"

Ritsu made a dashing entrance. "Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?"

"Oh...um..." She was getting nervous. And she got it in reverse. "O, speak again...bright angel!" She was taking deep gulps while she was at it. Even with all the preparation, Mio was still lacking in confidence. Even worse, she was picking the wrong time to falter. Tomorrow would be easy. Today was just hell for Mio Akiyama.

"Hey sweetums, don't you get nervous already. The festival's getting started, and it's not smart to look at your script before we have to put on our outfits. It's a bad idea."

"But I can't help it, I have a short-term memory!"

"Well, grow it then! Make it long or something! Anything!"

"I got an idea, and I got this from Yui, who got it from our granny," Ui said behind Ritsu. "Believe it or not, this works. Write the word 'pumpkin' on your hands and then swallow it."

Ritsu exchanged a suspicious scowl. "Are you sure you're not making fun of us because you have a bit part and we don't?"

"Did I say I was? Last time I checked, I wasn't."

Ritsu laughed. "Oh, you!"

"Hey Ui," Himeko Tachibana said to her, painting the leaves.

"Yeah! What's up, Hime?"

"You seem to imagine the audience as pumpkins. That's what she was trying to say, Ritsu."

"I was?"

"I see," Ritsu replied. "Sneaky little punk."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Ricchan!" Ui protested. "You're going to deflower me in front of all these people here? Atypical of Jurietsu!"

"And quit making a pun out of my stage name."

"Ahhh! I've been deflowered again. The pain, the pain! Mercy!"

"I believe you're supposed to swallow the kanji for 'person'," said Jun Suzuki, flipping through the script pages. "Your granny got it wrong."

"I guess she did."

Jun turned and saw Mio write the word "pumpkin" on her hand and swallow it. "Hey! Mio! Get a hold of yourself!" The others turned with looks of concern.

"Oh God, don't actually try to swallow the damn words," Ritsu said, head in her hands.

"Gutsy," Ui added.

"Hey everyone," Tsumugi said, walking in from down the hall, bringing a box of items. "Do we have all the costumes set?"

"I think Miss Sawako's getting them ready for us, right?" said Akane Satou.

"Well, she said she was going to stay up all night to make them after ordering the materials," Chizuru added. "Anybody seen her? Guys?"

Chika Nojima offered assistance. "You want me to go check down the hall?"

"Go for it." She did, and ran by Azusa, who was watching the activity with a smile on her face.

"So these are all the stage props?" Akane said to Chizuru.

"We're missing one; we still need to find that dagger. Attention class, if you see a prop dagger lying around, hand it over to me, thank you! Hey Mio!"

"I said, don't talk to me!" she exclaimed, even more flustered than before.

"Hey Mugi," said Ritsu, "I think the dagger is in your box. Go bring it to Chizuru."

"All right."

"Goddammit..."

"By the way, about the lighting and sound effects..."

"Don't touch that spot, the paint's still wet, Keiko said to a couple others in her work area.

"All about the pumpkins," Ui sang to herself.

"Looks like they're busy." Azusa nodded and went down to procure some items to set up the refreshment stall in the quad.

"Welcome!" said Yui Hirasawa, bowing to a couple of patrons from around town as they entered the Class 2-1 Mountain Cafe.

"Hey, Yui, I'm back," said Azusa.

She tilted her head. "Ah, Azunyan. Welcome back, my mistress."

"I'm not your mistress, Yui, I'm your best friend. Although you claim to be in love with me, that's a different story-oof!"

She was caught in a wonderful embrace. Yui gave her a kiss. "These uniforms look so cute on us. I feel like we are two walking dolls."

"Can you let go of me, Yui?"

"Mou." She did. "Anyway, how's onee-chan?"

"Ui-sempai and the others were busy, so I left without saying 'hi.'"

"How mean!"

"Why?"

"I would go over there and say, 'onee-chan!' And, 'hello, onee-chan's classmates!'"

Azusa pouted. "You would be embarrassing me."

"No, I'm just being honest. Anyway, Azunyan, their performance is this afternoon, right?"

"Yep, that looks about correct."

"Hey Yui, Azusa" Nodoka said from behind the curtain, "don't just stand around; we got some customers to help out!"

"Oh, got it, Nodoka-chan," Yui said. "Shall we go, Azunyan?"

"Right."

"Do you know how to cook?" Nodoka asked Yui.

"Sort of, but I tend to make a mess at times."

"I'll help you out. I need you in the kitchen."

"Do you want me to help you guys out as well?" Azusa asked.

"Sure. The more people we can get, the better. Actually, I want you to provide the menus. Handle this." She handed Azusa a pile of menu leaflets.

"Got it."

Yui's cooking was nowhere along the lines of Ui's cooking, but at the Mountain Cafe, it was pleasant and passable.

Two hours passed, and their shift for the day concluded. Azusa, Yui and Nodoka were back in their school uniforms and Azusa was stretching her already-tired arms after filling out so many orders. "I'm pooped."

"Glad we were able to get a break for once," Nodoka said to her and Yui.

Yui has dessert on her mind. "Oooh, a crepe! Looks good. Can we buy some?"

"You are still full of energy after all this time? Warrior."

Now Yui's eyes were fixated on another venue. "Oh, Nodoka-chan, Azunyan, this looks fun!"

Class 2-2 was giving the task of manning a barbecue stand, which was next to the squid stall. Live prehistoric, eat prehistoric. "Mammoth Meat," Azusa read. "You sure this isn't a bit too heavy?" she asked Yui.

"Wow..."

Nodoka raised her eyebrows. "This is beyond heavy, this is a 16-ton pick-up truck!" Class 2-2 had to procure a lot of ham and spent 10 times more for the ham than 3-2 did for their play materials.

"And their costume is cute, too," Azusa added.

"And they also have a photo spot. Big budgets are big. It allows you to be full of ideas, like they are."

"The Mammoth Meat shop costume is pretty cute," a freshman student said to her friend.

"I know, right?" And they both laughed. "Miss Yamanaka made that and Class 3's Vampire Cafe outfits."

"Whoa..."

The thought made Azusa freeze with fear. Who ever thought Miss Sawako still had a taste for the dark side with her. Such a dual persona. Jun and Yui also wanted to know what was going on.

"How far did she spread herself?" Azusa asked.

Could she have made outfits for all the classes, from the top to the bottom? Talk about having too much time on your hands! Hire a tailor, please!

"I'm gonna go buy a bone," Yui said, "how about you?"

"I hope I can stomach that much ham and not get fat," Nodoka said.

"Same here," Azusa added. No sooner had she said that when she watched Yui gnaw a bone clean. "Damn, that was fast!"

Back at Class 3-2, the cast was getting fitted in their outfits. Some were still going over their lines. "Miss Sawako...how far did you spread yourself?" Jun asked.

Sawako slumped on the desk. "I feel like giving up the ghost," she said.

"Are you all right?"

"Barely. I spread myself thin this year, but I think I'll be okay."

"Really?"

She turned around, glimmering. "That's because I gave my all making these costumes!"

"We know."

The entire class liked the 16th Century outfits that they were wearing. For more, it felt like they were in the middle of a time warp.

"Mio-chan, this looks great on you!" Tsumugi said to her. Mio was wearing a doublet with blue and gold vertical stripes and a light blue jerkin, with a white linen shirt, as well as white hose and stockings and blue boots with old gold trim. Her brown belt featured her sword and dagger that she would use in the fight scenes of the play.

"D...Don't stare at me so much!" she said, her purity in danger. She tied her hair back for this play, in natural fashion.

"Pardonnez moi, mon cheri?" Ritsu said in her Juliet garb. She was wearing a red gown with an orange horizontal stripe on top of an orange bodice with puffed shoulders and white trumpet sleeves, and was wearing a wig to make it look like she grew her hair long. Also, she was wearing a gold pendant with an emerald.

"You look awesome, Ricchan!" Tsumugi said, to Mio's surprise.

Ritsu was the fashion model of the team. "Aren't I, my dear? Fancy you saying such flattering words on this wonderful late Saturday morning on the grounds of this academy, where the petals fall down like a storm against the wind in springtime. I am in your debt, sister of rock, you, the defender of the 76 Keys."

"She is quite a thespian today, isn't she?" Mio asked Mugi.

"Quite."

"It's still funny that's you're Juliet," Ui said, all safe and sound in her Tree "G" garb. One smart-ass piece of wood to go! "But I agree, this does look good on you."

"Peace, peace, Ui, peace!" Ritsu said, dismissing the commentary. "Thou talkst of nothing."

"Aren't those my lines to Mercutio?" Mio asked her.

"I just twisted them around like a freshly baked pretzel for the sake of this discussion. Anyway, dearest Ui, if I were to facilitate a survey of 100, all of them would say that you look all the more unusual."

"You lie. I am a tree! I am beautiful. I am strong. And I...have leaves."

"That's because the students painted it on you."

"Shush! How dare you insult Mother Nature!" Mio was started to feel a bit frustrated and wanted to give her Juliet a headbump, but showed considerable restraint.

Mifuyu called the class to the door. "All right everyone, gather around."

"Yes, ma'am!" Ritsu said.

"Here we go," Ui said to her. "The tree with the letter 'G' listens."

"Hurry up, let's go Romeo," Juliet said, dragging Mio to the front. If these two were a pair in real life, it would be hilarious. Like that out of a reality TV series with dismal ratings.

"What are you doing?" Mio said. "Let me go!"

"Looks like Juliet is dominating Romeo here," Jun noted to herself. "Pretty out of character. Grow a pair, RoMio!" she hollered. Their turn was coming up soon.

The rendition of Little Women concluded in earnest, and there was a little break before the play began in earnest. Ritsu and Ui took a peek behind the curtain, and were impressed. Not a single seat in the house, and there were even cameras from the TV networks filming the show. Since they were the headline act, they would be broadcast live, in front of everyone across the country and Korea.

"Yikes," Ritsu said to Ui, looking at the camera that was at the back of the auditorium. "A full house, We're gonna be on the tube today. NHK is here."

Ui was in her track suit. "Are you kidding me? I echo your yikes. I'm only a tree, and I feel like shouting out loud."

"But you can't. At least not in this play."

"I know. Just an exaggeration. But man, the press is here for this? Crazy. We really don't deserve to be that high-profile, but we are."

"Yeah."

Ui noticed signs of Mio in a corner of the audience. "The Mio Fan Club has arrived. I can see their badges with Mio-chan's face on it. Hello, sweethearts. Your hero is here, yo!"

Mio shrank in fear. "What? Oh god, don't tell me they're here, too..."

She turned to her. "Yes, they are."

"Dammit...I am so fucked!"

"Now, now, my love, don't be so hard on yourself," said Ritsu. "I want you to be strong. I want you to be the man of my dreams. Because, you see, the man of dreams will have an impish smile on his face that comes from a wave of confidence when he plays his part."

"Are you even gonna have a man of your dreams, Ritsu?"

"You already are, love," she said with a wink. Mio sighed.

Tsumugi and Jun looked on with content looks on their faces. "Hey Jun-chan," asked Mugi, "is it true that Sokabe-senpai will be at the concert tomorrow?"

"That's correct. She's really looking forward to it and bought tickets for her entire entourage. In fact, the concert was declared a sellout on the intercom a few minute ago, and tickets for fans to watch the concert from the classrooms are also going fast. You guys are the toast of the school. Well done."

"Good to hear, good to hear."

"Ladies and gentlemen," said a voice over the public announcer system, "we would like to announce once again, if you did not hear the news before, that the Hokago Tea Time concert is declared a sellout and no further standing room only tickets will be available. Tickets to watch the concert from the closed-circuit televisions inside the classrooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and can be obtained at the ticket window across from the yakisoba stall on the quad. Also, the official Hokago Tea Time T-shirt is available for purchase, and only costs 1,000 yen. All proceeds will benefit the Light Music Club and the Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus Student Council. This item is going fast, so purchase yours right now! You can buy the T-shirt, as well as HTT flags, CDs, and other related memorabilia at the Mio Fan Club booth next to the ticket window..."

"All right guys, here we go," Ritsu said. "Ladies, let's show the country what Class 3-2 is about and this play the best ever. Who's with me!"

"YEEAAAAHHH!" the others shouted, raising their fists. Mio was nervous, but all she needed to do was act the character for the next hour and change, and all will be well. That's all. For the next hour and change, she was not Mio. She was RoMio, and she needed to act the part just like Juliet transformed into Jurietsu.

"I don't think Juliet would be that fired up for something back in the day, but oh well," Ui said, a wide smile on her face. "I digress, my sisters! I digress."

The class got together. "This one's for the school. Everybody, give it all you got," Mifuyu said. "We worked very hard for this. There is no turning back. Let's show the country that we, as a class, can put on a show for the masses. Ready!"

The chorus. "Yeah!" And a little head-butt by Ritsu to Mio for good measure. All the headbumps were going to come around sooner or later for her, that RoMio.

"3-2 on three! 3-2 on three! One, two, three!"

"3-2!" they all shouted, breaking the huddle.

"Let's go!" Showtime.

"Amazing," Nodoka said, walking in with Azusa and Yui. "It's packed, the press is here, and the TV cameras are ready to roll..." She turned to Yui. "Hey Yui, your sister is going to be famous."

"Onee-chan's only a tree though, Nodoka-chan," she replied.

"This is too much," Azusa said. "I'm glad I'm not in this play. I would be a bit overwhelmed."

"No you wouldn't, Azunyan. Just write the word 'pumpkin' on your hands and swallow it."

"What are you talking about?"

"I got it from Granny. It works, believe me!"

"I think what she meant to day was that you should imagine the audience as pumpkins," Nodoka said to Azusa.

"Oh."

"Not like she has a tough role as a tree, but standing there for the longest time has to be an exercise in itself."

"Anyway," Yui said, "I hope there are still some seats available."

"So in the end," Azusa thought to herself, "they rarely came to practice because of this."

"Hey, I see some seats," Yui said. "Nodoka-chan, Azunyan, over here!"

"C-Coming!"

"Hey, don't run down the walkway, Yui," Nodoka said, shaking her head.

Azusa was in a bit of a quagmire. Sure, she realized that the members of her band had this play to take care of, but the big problem was they would be in a precarious situation heading into the concert tomorrow. All they could likely do was one of two more rehearsals at the music room just to get settles, but that was it. It was clear that she was the most prepared for the shows. She knew what numbers were going to be played in the set, and the week prior to the festival, they were able to make just one run-through of the entire lineup. Only one. And they couldn't do anymore run-throughs because of the play.

Azusa was worried that the concert was not a high priority to the Mio, Tsumugi, Ritsu, and Ui. She was very worried because it was spun around locally and even nationally. Hokago Tea Time was being talked about on some indie rock shows as a possible band to watch out for. That type of exposure did not come without all the work they put in at the various concerts they had at the auditorium and elsewhere. She knew that the performance of the play was going to be great, but they might not know their sequences for all the numbers they would play at the concert tomorrow. Through pursed lips, Azusa prayed that this play would go on without any snags, and afterwards, the girls would focus on the concert and getting the music right. Of all the girls in 3-2 that had to work the hardest, it was the members of the Light Music Club that stood out. By far.

"What are you still standing there, Azusa?" asked Miss Sawako, who was with Yui and Nodoka. "I got a seat for you!"

"Coming, coming! Hold on." She met up with the three of them in the middle of the seats.

As Azusa walked over to the others, she wondered if she was trying to control something that was beyond her control. The best she could do was let it go and enjoy the show. "Sorry about that, she said to Nodoka. I was lost in thought for a few moments."

*All right."

1:45 p.m. JST. The curtain rose. And Azusa came to terms with the last school festival she would have with their band. She prayed to the gods that this tragic classic celebrating the legacy of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet was a smash hit according to those who would witness it.

Indeed, the play was off to a flying start, and Azusa, Yui, Nodoka and Miss Sawako were impressed by what they were seeing.

Mio proceeded with a soliloquy. "Alas that love, whose view is muffled still, should without eyes see pathways to his will! Where shall we dine? O me! What fray was here? Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all. Here's much to do with hate, but more with love. Why then, o brawling love! O loving hate! O anything, of nothing first create! O heavy lightness! serious vanity! Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms! Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health! Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is this love feel I, that feel no love in this. Dost thou not laugh?"

Azusa, Yui and Nodoka were mesmerized. Yui was even more impressed by her older sister staying still as a tree. Sawako looked on with a smile, nodding and acknowledging that Tsumugi translated the script accurately. "She acts better than how I did when I was a student here," she thought to herself.

"Hey Miss Sawako," Nodoka asked her, "is there any point in the trees showing their faces?"

"Well, they have to breathe, somehow. And please don't point that out. This was part of the play."

Ui was doing reasonably well in standing her ground. It's as if she would also be a member of the audience as well as a cast member. She would see the lovemaking, the swordplay, the suicides, and the resolution...while observing the crowd's reaction. If there was ever a Real Student of Genius, she was the one. Ui Hirasawa, Miss Tree in A Shakespearean Play Tree Woman.

* * *

The play went on, as RoMio hid in the bushes to hide herself from Benvolio and Mercutio. Keiko Iida and Eri Taki were playing the parts of Benvolio and Mercutio, respectively. "This cannot anger him," Eri said. "'Twould anger him to raise a spirit in his mistress' circle of some strange nature, letting it there stand till she had laid it and conjur'd it down. That were some spite; my invocation is fair and honest: in his mistress' name, I conjure only but to raise up him."

"Come," Keiko said, "he hath hid himself among these trees to be consorted with the humorous night. Blind is his love and best befits the dark. "They paced around the stage, in pursuit of a certain Montague in vain.

"Gripping," Nodoka said. "Just how I expected it to be."

"Mmm-hmmm, mmm-hmmm," Sawako nodded.

"Oh yeah," Azusa said, looking on with nervousness. "But it's gripping for the wrong reasons. I hope Ui-sempai doesn't make a mistake!" Mio was hiding next to Ui.

"Go then," Keiko said, "for 'tis in vain to seek him here that means not to be found."

So far, so good.

* * *

And the play went on. Act II, Scene II. The moment of truth. "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?" Ritsu asked the audience in Juliet mode while RoMio watched on bended knee. "Deny thy father and refuse thy name! Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet."

"Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?" Mio asked as an aside.

"Golden," Sawako thought to herself.

The love scene continued. "How cam'st thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?" Ritsu asked Mio. "The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, and the place death, considering who thou art, if any of my kinsmen find thee here."

"With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls; for stony limits cannot hold love out, and what love can do, that dares love attempt. Therefore thy kinsmen are no let to me."

Of course, there was a ladder for her to climb, but that's breaking the fourth wall right there. Sawako loved it, and gave a thumbs up as she watched the scene unfold with a wide smile on her face.

"Romeo!" Ritsu exclaimed

Mio responded in earnest. "My dear?"

"At what o'clock to-morrow shall I send to thee?"

"By the hour of nine."

"I will not fail. 'Tis twenty years till then. I have forgot why I did call thee back."

The members of the Mio Fan Club was blushing madly. Some noses were even bleeding at the sight. The good thing was that they brought tissues to cope with the inevitable fate awaiting their sinuses.

Here was where Ritsu broke from her character. "Do this seriously, so please you!" Mio whispered to Ritsu, annoyed. "You're the one I love, in real life and in the play, so do it."

"Yes, my love," she whispered, similarly annoyed.

Mio spoke. "Let me stand here till thou remember it."

"I shall forget, to have thee still stand there, rememb'ring how I love thy company."

"And I'll still stay, to have thee still forget, forgetting any other home but this."

Immediately, they both shared a passionate, deep kiss. This was not just part of the play, this was real. The others backstage were nervous after hearing the squeals out loud, and Tsumugi plugged her nostrils. Everybody in the Mio Fan Club was suffering from a nosebleed. Yui was loving it, Azusa was disgusted, Nodoka smirked at those two, and Sawako plugged her own passages. A few visitors from the Boys' Campus were roaring their approval before a student usher had to politely quiet them down. "Mai waifu!" yelled a schoolboy at the top of his lungs, to the laughter of the crowd.

"Holy cow," Nodoka said. "They're gonna be on the front page tomorrow, that's for sure."

"Mercy sakes, kissing in front of the audience," Azusa whispered. "If this is beyond staged, I will be stunned."

"I think it is beyond staged," Yui said. "They're still kissing."

"Okay, I think they've stopped," Miss Sawako said. "That was good."

"Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow," Ritsu said to Mio, "that I shall say good night till it be morrow."

Ui looked at the scene from the balcony before turning her eyes to the audience. "So this is Shakespeare," she thought. "God bless the best couple in my club. But me and Azunyan won't lose this fight. Not on your life."

Azunyan watched as Ui tried to hold back the tears. "It's intense for all the wrong reasons!" she thought to herself. Not very often does a tree provide comic relief in a tragedy like this.

Still the play went on. Chika Nojima was Friar Laurence. "Within the infant rind of this small flower," she said with RoMio at the watch, "poison hath residence, and medicine power; for this, being smelt, with that part cheers each part; being tasted, slays all senses with the heart."

Backstage, Jun and Mugi, who were co-directing the play, liked what they were seeing.

"Good work holding it back, Ui," Jun said to her.

"Ohhh boy, that was fun," she said, getting out of her hole in the prop. "I wanted to cry because that is one of my favorite scenes."

"It was, was it?" Ritsu said to her.

"Juliet, you are an ace. You heard it first."

"So the praise continues. And I lap it up. You know, you would have spoiled the scene if you actually sobbed at that point in time."

"Easy for you to say, Juricchan. Hey, there's a stage nickname for you. Juricchan!"

"I can't say that wasn't coming...by the way, forget what I said earlier!" she said, recanting.

"No harm done, Juricchan. You're good. You're still acting like her."

"So what! It's my choice to be in character and out of character at my own discretion in the midst of a stage. I do not believe in restrictions. What's a restriction? It is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name!"

"I told you so."

"You fiends! I am so disappointed in you." Tsumugi and Jun smiled. She was still fresh in her role. "In any case, I need to stay this way for the entire production, so do pardon if I am not the person you know for half an hour more, give or take."

"Looks good so far," Mugi said to Jun. "Mio-chan is fitting her role to a T."

"Very good. Terrific."

RoMio spoke. "Then plainly know my heart's dear love is set on the fair daughter of rich Capulet; As mine on hers, so hers is set on mine, and all combin'd, save what thou must combine by holy marriage. When, and where, and how we met, we woo'd, and made exchange of vow, I'll tell thee as we pass; but this I pray, that thou consent to marry us to-day."

"It's not here!" exclaimed a person in backstage to the others.

"Hm?" Ui asked Chizuru. "Something wrong?"

She turned in fears, tears coming down her eyes. "The tombstone for the last scene...it's not here!"

Ui placed her hands on her hips while turning to the others. "This is why we should thank the theater gods that be for the power of improvisation."

"O, she knew well," Chika said to Mio, "Thy love did read by rote, that could not spell. But come, young waverer, come go with me. In one respect I'll thy assistant be; for this alliance may so happy prove to turn your households' rancour to pure love."

"O, let us hence! I stand on sudden haste."

"Wisely, and slow. They stumble that run fast."

But the class had to move swiftly to recover the prop lying around at Class 3-2.

* * *

Mika Saeki played the role of Count Paris. "Immoderately she weeps for Tybalt's death," she said to Chika. "And therefore have I little talk'd of love; for Venus smiles not in a house of tears. Now, sir, her father counts it dangerous that she do give her sorrow so much sway, and in his wisdom hastes our marriage to stop the inundation of her tears, which, too much minded by herself alone, may be put from her by society."

"Crap, it's not in the classroom, either!" Ui said to the others, running back to the cast in her track suit.

"If it's not in the classroom," Jun said to the others, "we must have dropped it somewhere."

"Should we push on without a tombstone?" Ritsu asked.

"Improvisation, guys," Ui said. "I can't see why we can't do it."

Mika went on with her lines. "Now do you know the reason of this haste."

"I would I knew not why it should be slow'd," Chika replied.

"But the graveyard scene is the climax of Romeo and Juliet," Tsumugi said, the look of worry increasing.

"Exactly," said Mifuyu. "I want this as perfect as possible. So we need that gravestone."

"How about this?" Ui said. "Instead of just sitting around, let's make another one right here, right now!"

"I don't think we have enough time, though," Ritsu complained.

"Let's borrow one from the haunted house," Tsumugi said. "You got some legs, right?" she asked Ui.

"Fresh as ever. At least it's better than standing still."

"But I don't want Japanese-style gravestones, though," Mifuyu replied. "They most have Japanese-style. We need one that is of a Renaissance design."

"Guys," said Shizuka Kinoshita, "I think the Occult Club has something that looks like a tombstone. Should we go ask them? Some of my friends are in that club, so I will be willing to."

"Shizuka, your scene!" exclaimed Chizuru.

"Ui, fill me in!" she said to her, taking off.

"Roger that," she replied. "Come back soon."

"I'm gonna go with her," Mugi replied, following Shizuka.

"But will you be able to memorize her lines?" Ritsu asked Ui.

"I've read the script, I understand the parts, and I know that I have to fill in when necessary. I will be ready."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you ARE Ui, so I guess we can. Jun, give me one more look at the script so I can get set."

"You got it." She tossed it over.

"All right...mmm-hmmmm, mmm-hmmmm, mmm-hmmmm." Ui took a deep breath and made a sign of the cross before handing it back. "Lord, guide me on this Saturday afternoon."

"Actually, you don't have any lines," Mifuyu said.

"Oh, I guess that works."

Ui was a bush. Bush "A". Yui noticed the change and was pleasantly surprised. Miss Sawako, Azusa and Nodoka looked on with looks of surprise. Double-duty in the background. A true Real Student of Genius.

"If I may trust the flattering truth of sleep," Mio said in Act V, Scene I, "My dreams presage some joyful news at hand. My bosom's lord sits lightly in his throne, and all this day an unaccustom'd spirit lifts me above the ground with cheerful thoughts. I dreamt my lady came and found me dead (Strange dream that gives a dead man leave to think!) and breath'd such life with kisses in my lips that I reviv'd and was an emperor. Ah me! how sweet is love itself possess'd, When but love's shadows are so rich in joy!"

"Mother of pearls," Nodoka said to Azusa.

"Two different roles as a tree? Next thing you know she is going to be a date palm in the middle of Dubai," Azusa said.

"Go onee-chan!" Yui exclaimed. "It's not easy being green, but you make it look easy."

"What happened to Shizuka?" Sawako asked the three of them.. "Wasn't she supposed to be in this position or did something happen backstage?"

"This is not a tombstone," said one of the members of the Occult Club. "This is a replica of the Rosetta Stone, a stele engraved with the writings of ancient cultures."

"This inscription is primarily about Pharaoh Epiphanes from the Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt," said another.

Mugi and Shizuka were catching their breath. "That doesn't matter, we need a prop for our play," Shizuka said.

"That being said, if it is of any use to you, we are happy to help."

"Good call," Tsumugi said. "Thanks."

"The pleasure is ours." Mugi and Shizuka had to borrow it and tote the bad boy down. Took them less than five minutes. Mugi's upper body strength had something to do with the expedited delivery time.

"We'll bring it back while we are done!" Tsumugi said.

"Godspeed."

Mifuyu was still walking a tightrope. "Who bare my letter, then, to Romeo?" Chika asked on stage to someone posing as Friar John. Even the people backstage were sensing the impending danger.

"I could not send it- here it is again, nor get a messenger to bring it thee, so fearful were they of infection," was the response.

"Unhappy fortune!" Chika exclaimed. "By my brotherhood, The letter was not nice, but full of charge, of dear import; and the neglecting it may do much danger. Friar John, go hence, get me an iron crow and bring it straight unto my cell. Now, must I to the monument alone. Within this three hours will fair Juliet wake. She will beshrew me much that Romeo hath had no notice of these accidents; but I will write again to Mantua, and keep her at my cell till Romeo come-poor living corse, clos'd in a dead man's tomb!"

The lights went down.

"The hell! We're out of time!" Ui exclaimed.

But Mugi and Shizuka walked in with the prop. "Here it is, we got it!" Tsumugi said, to the relief of the others.

"Let's go!" Mifuyu said. "Help me out!"

"Right!" they all replied, bringing it on stage before the final scene, Act V, Scene III. Well done, that Occult Club.

"A bit chaotic in the background," said Sawako to the others. "Hope everything is all right down there."

Everything was. The lights went on, and Mio was in tears as she saw Ritsu lying on a grave. Yui was in the background as the only tree standing watch. Such a pitiful scene. The moment of truth after the moment of truth.

"Ah, dear Juliet," Mio said mournfully, "Why art thou yet so fair? Shall I believe that unsubstantial Death is amorous, and that the lean abhorred monster keeps thee here in dark to be his paramour? For fear of that I still will stay with thee and never from this palace of dim night depart again. Here, here will I remain with worms that are thy chambermaids. O, here will I set up my everlasting rest and shake the yoke of inauspicious stars from this world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last! Arms, take your last embrace! And, lips, O you the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss a dateless bargain to engrossing death!"

Yui and Sawako were liking Mio's devotion to her role. Azusa and Nodoka were amazed at the whole spectacle. This was no ordinary Romeo. This was RoMio, and to leave her life on the line for this was typical of her.

RoMio took the poison, which was actually water in a bottle, but that's another story. "Come, bitter conduct; come, unsavoury guide! Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on the dashing rocks thy seasick weary bark! Here's to my love!" She drank it. "O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die." As she kissed Jurietsu one deep, final time, she breathed her last and fell to her grave.

"We should make it to the end," Mifuyu said to the others backstage, who nodded.

Jurietsu arose, mortified at the sight. "What's here? A cup, clos'd in my true love's hand? Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end. O churl! drunk all, and left no friendly drop to help me after? I will kiss thy lips. Haply some poison yet doth hang on them to make me die with a restorative." A kiss, and genuine tears. "Thy lips are warm!" In reality, she would also shed tears, only stronger, for Mio. This was the one she loved on the stage, and off it. "Then I'll be brief. O happy dagger! This is thy sheath; there rest, and let me die." A stab to her heart, and she collapsed, bleeding to death, on top of the one she loved so much for so long. If she had to die this way in reality, she would be more than happy to. For heaven awaits those in love: in this life and the next.

"Ritsu-sempai did it," Azusa whispered. "Mio-sempai and Ritsu-sempai really look like Romeo and Juliet. Looks like all that practice is paying off."

"You go, girl!" Nodoka said.

"Well done," Sawako added.

"I love Shakespeare," Yui said to them.

"We all do."

A student with the role of Prince Escalus closed out the case. "A glooming peace this morning with it brings. The sun for sorrow will not show his head. Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things; some shall be pardon'd, and some punished; for never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo."

A rapturous applause, and a standing ovation as the entire cast made its curtain call.

Azusa still wondered if RoMio, Jurietsu, Mugi and Ui forgot that they had a concert to do.

"Hey Azusa," Nodoka said, "you'll be fine. They haven't forgotten about you."

"How can you be so sure?" Azusa asked. "How can you be so effing sure?"

"That play must have moved you to tears for the wrong reasons. Cheer up. The easy part is coming tomorrow."

"Good work, good work," said Youko Sasaki to Mio, who was coming up for air after holding her breath.

"Nice job," Jun said. "You did it."

"You all right?" asked Chizuru.

"Barely, barely," Mio said. "Thank you, Jesus, for saving my life today."

"You were awesome," Mifuyu said to Mio. "Great work!"

"The Mio Fan Club is crying tears of joy right now, and they are talking with the NHK people," Youko added.

"They are, are they?" Mio said.

"We did it, this play is history!" Ui said to them. "16th Century history, that is."

"Hello, my Romeo," Ritsu said, walking to Mio. "Can we talk for a little bit?"

"Eh? What?"

She put a finger to her lips. "Shhh. In the music room, my love."

"Can you excuse us?" she asked Mifuyu.

"Oh, sure. We'll see you in a bit."

"Where are you guys going?" Ui asked the two of them. Ritsu winked and put a finger to her lips. "Ohhh. Gotcha."

"Where are Mio-chan and Ricchan going?" asked Tsumugi to Ui.

"Leave them alone. Romeo and Juliet have some business to take care of."

"Can I bring my camera?"

"Have you ever heard of privacy?"

"Sorry, sorry."

* * *

The music room was open, and both Mio and Ritsu, still in their garb, went inside. Ritsu locked the door.

"Ritsu, what are you doing?" Mio asked. "They play is over. We don't have to do...that anymore..."

"Mio. You don't understand my feelings right now. We not only love each other on stage. We love each other in reality."

"A...Are you sure?"

"It's time for me to lay my love on you. I love you, RoMio."

"Jurietsu..."

Ritsu snapped her fingers, and as if on cue, the PA played the Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet, "A Time for Us," as conducted by Henry Mancini.

Immediately they were on the floor, hugging and kissing each other. Passionately, Strongly. Emotionally. The moans and sighs and noises of two girls in love could be heard from the stairs. Ton-chan had a pool-side seat to the entire act of consummation. Thankfully, his nose couldn't bleed. Of course it couldn't bleed; he was a turtle, but what does that have to do with anything, pray tell?

This wasn't anything staged. All the worries and what-have-you were obliterated after the play was done. The roles they relished included attributed that they could easily apply in the real world.

They loved each other. Neither Mio nor Ritsu knew who else to turn to. Not even the richest dessert that Tsumugi brought in could equal the touch and taste of each other's faces, the howling and sighing and heavy breathing that came. They may hate each other at times, but they hated each other because they LOVED each other.

And it got so steamy inside the music room that their clothes got saturated in their own sweat and Mio's hair got disheveled into its natural state. Their tongues got deeper and deeper into each other's mouths, and a saliva trail could be seen in their kiss. The makeup of their outfits made it difficult for them to take off without assistance, so they were reduced to just fondling and getting their legs tangled up in each other's cores. Mio was suddenly on top of Ritsu, caressing every part of her when she could, and Ritsu herself was doing the same thing. There was no turning back. There was no turning back, ever. They could not get enough of each other from this post-play skinship session. Not even Romeo or Juliet in that period would go as far as they did, albeit with clothes on. Maybe they would, maybe they wouldn't. But the hormonal rush and the carnal urge for Mio and Ritsu satisfy their sexual desires paralleled Romeo and Juliet's perfectly.

Thankfully there would not be any evidence of the lustful scenes that unfolded, aside from Mio's white tights getting drenched profusely and Ritsu heaving heavily as they prepped themselves back down to rejoin the others at Class 3-2. The journalism club did interview the two lovers, and NHK also featured them as part of a news article and clip. The videos that followed regarding that final scene in the whole play would get thousands of hits, and the fan clubs of both Mio and Ritsu would increase exponentially. This was not secret: they were a pair. And they enjoyed each other's company to the point of engaging in foreplay in whatever they wore—even their skin.

* * *

"Ahhh, that's better," Ritsu said, taking off her wig back at 3-2.

"Good, sugar pie?" Mio asked.

"But of course, honeybunch."

"You did wonderful on the play," Tsumugi said to Ritsu. "Congratulations. By the way, what were you doing inside the room?"

"If I were to tell you, your nose would be bleeding," Ritsu said. "That's between the two of us...oh wait, your nose is not bleeding."

"What? Come again?" A trickle of red could be seen dripping out.

Youko plugged her nostrils. "You have to get your mind out of there so that you don't stain the floor."

"Sorry, sorry."

"That was good stuff right there," Ritsu said. "It might be the last Shakespearean play we will ever perform, but that was a good one. By the way, why the heck did we use the Rosetta stone as a gravestone? I thought it looked pretty weird having that there."

"Well," Youko said, "the others could not locate the original headstone we were going to use, and we couldn't take one from the haunted house, so we had Shizuka help us out and get something from her Occult Club. Hence, the Rosetta Stone."

"Ah, I see what you did there. Clever."

"Thanks. Anything to help the women of the hour, Akiyama-san and Tainaka-san."

"Call us by our first names, will you?"

"Mio-san and Ricchan?"

"Using my nickname is all right, too. I can do without formalities. I'm sure Juliet would think the same thing."

"She would, wouldn't she?"

"Yep."

"Here's some water," Mugi said, handing her a bottle.

Ritsu guzzled it down. "That's what I call a godsend, Mugi. Well done, sister."

"Anytime."

"I am so glad that you, the Occult Club and Mugi were able to bail us out!" Chizuru said to Shizuka, who was embraced by Ui.

"It's too early to call me a miracle worker, but I'll take the compliments as part of the hard work I put in for the team," she replied.

"Your role was easy!" Ui added. "I was a bush this time. I am one with nature. I've got the green initiative."

"Thanks for helping me out, Ui."

"We help each out. We're a team, and we got it done."

"If it hadn't been for the Occult Club...goodness knows what would have happened to me..." said Chizuru.

"Spare us the overdramatics. We got the job done, and that's all that matters. Isn't that right, Shizuka?"

"That's right, that's right!" she replied, captive and relieved.

"Give me another hug...mmmm!"

"I can't...breathe..."

"Jesus, I am glad that is done," said Keiko Iida to Nobuyo, who played the role of Tybalt. "I don't know how much longer I would have had to go through the torture of knowing Shakespeare a la crash course."

"I think I did fine," Nobuyo said.

Ushio Oota agreed. "That we did. And guess what, we brought the house down on national TV. Did you know that?"

"What? We were on TV?"

"I just heard from some of the freshmen that NHK was broadcasting our play. On TV and online."

"Oh my God, are you serious? Are you friggin' serious?"

"No joke, they were there, and I think they are wrapping up Day 1, and they'll be back for Day 2 tomorrow."

"Holy shit..."

"I was a tree on TV," Himeko said to the three of them. "I feel humbled."

"Our class was on national television and we didn't know it until now," said Keiko. "Damn! That is simply amazing! Guys, we are famous! We're just regular high school students and already we're famous! We're the toast of Japan!"

"Well Keiko, I don't know if we want to go there," said Nobuyo, "but this is something I will remember. Not exactly just being in a play as awesome as this, but also being on television. It's good PR for us and for the school."

"Damn right!" Ushio added, to which the four of them laughed.

Mifuyu, Chizuru, Shizuka and Tsumugi returned the stone as promised. "Thank you very much, members of the Occult Club," Chizuru said with a bow.

"Thank you," Mifuyu added, bowing.

"We are glad that you are students of your word," said one of the club members.

"We will remember this act and if you need any assistance from us in the future, the door is open."

"Thanks a lot, you guys," said Shizuka.

"Thank you for saving our play," Tsumugi said.

"The least we can do is the least we can do," said the other club member. "We wish you well in the future, and best of luck."

"Thanks," said the four of them, taking their leave to return to 3-2. As the afternoon wrapped up, the stalls were set aside and closed down. Tomorrow would see Hokago Tea Time take to the stage. Class 3-2 had their shining moment. Now it was time for the jewels of 3-2 and the crown jewel of 2-1 to wind up another successful school festival at the Girls Campus.

Azusa went back to the music room and studied the chords for her numbers while playing on Muttan, her cherry-red Fender Mustang. Plugging her iPod to the dock, she selected the seventh track from AC/DC's Back In Black album.

* * *

_"She was a fast machine_

_She kept her motor clean_

_She was the best damn woman that I ever seen_

_She had the sightless eyes_

_Tellin' me no lies_

_Knockin' me out with those American thighs_

_Takin' more than her share_

_Had me fighting for air_

_She told me to come but I was already there_

_'Cause the walls start shaking_

_The earth was quakin'_

_My mind was achin'_

_And we were makin' it and you -_

_Shook me all night long_

_Yeah you shook me all night long_

_Workin' double time_

_On the seduction line_

_She was one of a kind, she's just mine all mine_

_Wanted no applause_

_Just another course_

_Made a meal out of me, and come back for more_

_Had to cool me down_

_To take another round_

_Now I'm back in the ring to take another swing_

_'Cause the walls were shaking_

_The earth was quakin'_

_My mind was achin'_

_And we were makin' it and you -_

_Shook me all night long_

_Yeah you shook me all night long_

_Knocked me out and then you_

_Shook me all night long_

_Then you were shakin' and you_

_Shook me all night loooong_

_Yeah you shook me_

_Well, you took me_

_You really took me and you_

_Shook me all night long_

_Oaaaaaahhhhhh you shook me all night long_

_Yeah yeah you_

_Shook me all... night... long_

_Ya really took me and you_

_Shook me all night long_

_Yeah you shook me, yeah you shook me_

_All night loooong!"_

* * *

As Azusa was strumming on Muttan, she came to terms with the fact that the priority now lies in the performance of her fellow band members. She was capable of what she could do, but she wasn't so certain about the others. The play had taken a good deal of energy from the students, and a dose of tea and snacks from Mugi would not be enough to recharge them.

She looked outside. Downstairs on the quad, the students were closing down their booths and a flock of seagulls could be seen on their afternoon flight to the coastline. Azusa watched cars and commoners commute quietly as the glow of the sun decked the western skies, Time flies so fast when you have fun, and Azusa knew the adage very well.

"Aaaand...we are back for one final go," Ritsu said, now back in her characteristic uniform. "Our attention turns to the concert, with the class play officially in our rear view mirror. Robble, robble, robble."

"Ritsu-sempai, there you are!"

"Hey Azusa. How are you doing, old sport?"

"What's with the Gatsby reference this time?"

"It's called going on a whim."

"Easy for you to say."

"Nakano...play nice, child. Man, I am beat. That took a lot out of me."

The others followed. "I think the little episode you gave me an hour ago took more out of me."

"What?" Azusa said, her ears perked in fright. "You two were?"

"Yeah," Ritsu said, "we did that." Sensing that Azusa's nose was about to bleed, she grabbed a tissue and plugged her nostrils. "Don't stain the floor, my little kitty; it's bad manners."

"Ritsu, hush."

"That was a lot of fun," Ui said. "I can only be a tree for so long, though."

"Well, you held your ground, and that's all that matters in the end," Mugi said. "For you, at least. Anyway, I cannot begin to explain how you two rocked the house on national TV. All the practice you did paid off. Course, it also helps that you two are lovers, but that's a different story."

"Hey, Mugi, don't forget us," Ui said, pointing to her and Azusa.

"Nya!" the kouhai objected, a fang sticking out.

"I didn't," Mugi said with a grin.

"You know, I was wondering why all the cameras were there," Ritsu said to them. "Is somebody taping this?"

"NHK broadcasted the first day and our show live on TV, and they'll be back tomorrow," Mio said.

"So sexy! But not as sexy as mah lil' Ro-Mi-O right hurr! Owww!" Up came the headbump. "Quit being so mean to your wife."

"Shhhh. Enough."

"A~~~~~zunyan!" said Ui, glomping her in predictable fashion. "How are you, my dear?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

She genuflected and rested her arms on her lap. "How was our play? Did you like my role as the tree and the bush in the play?"

"It was good. It was...good."

"That's not good enough. How was it?"

"It was awesome, there! Nya!" Ui gave her a luscious kiss.

"That's what I wanna hear, my precious kitty. Glad you liked the work we did. We rocked on national TV."

"That's pretty good. I knew there was a reason there were cameras up and down the school."

"You know what, Azusa, I can sense something in your face," Ritsu said. "Were you getting lonely because we haven't played with you for a while?" That was the truth.

Azusa tried to deny it. "I...It's not like that."

"That's what they all say. Liar."

"It's just..."

"Hm?" The others wanted to know.

And immediately afterwards, the truth came out. "You guys weren't coming here that much, and...I was worried that all of you weren't going to take our concert very seriously. I mean, I've heard people talk about your play, but most people I've heard from are excited about what's gonna happen tomorrow, and you guys might end up making it a concert you want to forget for the rest of your lives. I don't want that to happen. This is it, peoples! I'm glad this play is over because now, we can FINALLY get some practice done."

Mio was impressed by her courage in saying what was on her mind. "Azusa..."

She took it as a complete misunderstanding. "I...I'm sorry, I know that you were busy with play and stuff. I guess I was being a bit selfish when I said it. If you want to put on a good production, you need a lot of practice. And there really wasn't anything I could do, so..."

"Jeez, Azusa, you are so silly," Ritsu said, getting up after crouching over. "Do you really think we're going to leave you behind like this? We understand that we have this concert to take care of. We're not stupid, naive idiots as you think we are. As a matter of fact, we wanted this shit out of the way so fucking bad because we were thinking about you when we were performing. Now that the play is over, the fun part begins."

"That's what she said," Tsumugi added. "We do take our role as members of the Light Music Club very seriously. The concert is now high-priority, and we will do all we can to make it even better than our play."

"Sorry to have you so worried, Azusa," Mio said. "With the play done and dusted, we won't let that happen again."

Azusa was touched. "You guys..." Her faith and confidence in her club was returning with force.

"They got a point, Azunyan," Ui said up close, to her surprise. "I am sick and tired of being a tree. I was born to rock and roll all night and study every day until I get my college degree. Then it's just rocking and rolling all night and partying every day."

"What's with the Kiss reference?"

"A whim. Anyway, as I was saying, I have been thinking about you all day. And I don't just mean personally, but in regards to the club. We had to get this done. It was required. We got it done, and now we can get to work with the fun stuff."

"You don't have to go that far!" Azusa exclaimed, slapping her away initially. "Fine." A nice peck on the lips.

"I did say in regards to the club, Azunyan."

"All right ladies, let's do this," Ritsu said to the crew. "We're gonna stay overnight to practice for tomorrow. How's that, everybody?"

"Wait, are you sure we're going to gut getting some rest for this?" Mio said, suspicious of the proposal.

"I wanna get some sleep, too," Tsumugi said to Ritsu.

"Besides, I don't think we're allowed to stay on campus after hours."

"Nope. It's all good, love!"

"I'm not even prepared to stay overnight on campus. Are you sure this is okay?"

Her bad English was bad. But it was passable. "No problem! As your official club president, I give it my Juliet-sized seal of approval."

"Does such a thing exist?" asked Mio suspiciously.

"Use your imagination, you star-crossed fool!" Ritsu whispered.

"I hope we can have some bottomless bowls of rice," Ui said. "Can we have some?"

"But of course!" A bubbly response. And she was back to her senses. "Wait, what?"

Azusa smiled. Her confidence in her club was back to full strength. Hopes were high that this show would be an even bigger smash hit than the play.

"Hey guys, I knew that you were going to be camped here because of the play, so I brought some sleeping bags," said Miss Sawako with a pack of five.

"Hey, Miss Sawako," Ui said.

"I told you so," Ritsu said to Azusa. After she got changed in her regular uniform, she told Miss Sawako to procure supplies for a special practice/sleepover prior to the concert. In addition, the school administration at the eleventh hour allowed the band to camp inside the room for the evening due to the extenuating circumstances regarding the concert and the play. Other clubs also got clearance to camp out on campus.

"Thanks, Miss Sawako," Ui said, taking the bags and setting them aside. "Are you pulling another all-nighter today?"

"Exactly," she replied. "I gotta get you your shirts, and I have to make a special order for another 2,000 of those shirts because they sold out today. The guys who I worked with told me I had the option of making another order at no cost in the event I sell out the shirts. You guys are gonna have a lot of money coming in, and so will the council.

"Oh, that's awesome. More money means better equipment and perks for the club. Good work, Miss Sawako."

"I'm gonna head downstairs. Take care, ladies. And don't peek inside the room that I'm going to."

"Don't overwork yourself either, Miss Sawako," Ui warned as their advisor/teacher slowly retired to the dressing room. "Well that was a load of bull," she pouted. The others showed similar faces of consternation. "And this, this is the crane's repayment..."

"All right then, folks! Practice time!" Ritsu said.

"Yeah!" exclaimed the others.

So the afternoon would give way to the evening, and there were still some classes yet to perform. They would perform tomorrow, but the light music club had to practice their music. It was going to be a little bit loud for the other classes who were practicing their lines. Some were painting the scenes. Others were just relaxing in the glow of the setting sun. But no matter who was in the building, everyone knew that when there was some loud music upstairs, the light music club was at it. And they would be at it.

Clearly songs like "Rice Is A Side Dish," "U&I," "Fuwa Fuwa Time" and "Curry Over Rice" were going to be there, but there would also be some other numbers mixed right in.

Needless to say, Romeo and Juliet got rave reviews from fans in the audience, and was the most-watched program in the afternoon time slot. So this was another job well done by NHK. It was also regarded as the best play of the entire afternoon. On a makeshift tombstone, no less! Two hours of practice, not bad.

* * *

Yui Hirasawa walked up the stairs to the sounds of "Fuwa Fuwa Time." She was bringing in a plethora of food made by Grandma Tomi. The remittance from Ui and Yui's mom was going to pay off, and it came in the form of dinner.

"These guys are doing the business," Yui said. "I'm so glad I was able to bring this food for them." With a sigh, she continued up the stairs.

Ui opened the door to let Yui in. "Here she is. The author of U&I, my beloved imouto!"

"Onee-chan, everybody, you were awesome at the play, congratulations!" Yui said to them.

"As Ton-chan as our witness, we will never be hungry again!" Ritsu exclaimed as she helped place the instruments aside to a corner.

"Glad you liked the show," Mio said to Yui.

"Weren't our two lovebirds awesome?" Tsumugi said to Mio and Ritsu.

"Quiet, you!" they both said, before laughing at each other.

"Thanks for the food, Yui," Azusa said.

"Actually, this was from Granny, because our mom gave some money to her to buy some stuff."

"Mom did a remittance?" Ui asked Yui.

"She did, onee-chan! And here's your result: dinner! She's also going to special-order some breakfast and bring it over here for us."

"Jackpot alert, I smell a jackpot alert!" Ritsu said, doing an alarm signal sign. Mio gave her a headbump. "False alarm."

"Two words: Bon appetit, fellas!" Ui said, grabbing her share of food. Soon afterwards, the others joined in. "This is great stuff."

"Scrumptious," said Ritsu. "You know, I haven't even eaten anything since breakfast this morning. Goddamn. I'll be honest with you fuckers: I am ill-equipped for a hunger strike and I do not want lentil soup force-fed up by nose. AT ALL. I'd rather kill myself with a dagger like Juliet rather than let that shit happen."

"Well, you're getting your fill, so we're glad it's not happening, says your Romeo," Mio retorted snidely.

"To onigiri: the taste of heaven. How I love thee!"

"We have a lot more, so get your fill. You can thank me and Onee-chan's granny for this," Yui said.

"Thank you," the others said in spirit.

Ui's cell phone rang. "Oh, who could this be."

Grandma Tomi was on the line. "Ui-chan, it's your granny on the line!"

"Oh hi, Granny."

"Do you mind if you put your speakerphone at its highest level? I want to talk to you girls."

"Sure. Guys, Granny wants to speak with us."

"She does?" Tsumugi asks. "Cool."

UI placed her phone in the center of the floor where the girls were eating. "Hello, ladies? My name is Tomi Ichimonji, Ui and Yui's grandmother. I provided you girls with dinner today."

"Thank you for the food," they said in unison.

"Wonderful. Listen. I watched you girls on NHK earlier today. You were fantastic. And to see my Ui-chan as a tree and a shrub. You look so cute. You're not a little girl anymore, missy."

The others laughed. "Oh, Granny, quit embarrassing me here," Ui said.

"Ladies, you put on a wonderful, wonderful performance. I even shed a few tears at the end. Who's the person as Romeo?"

"That's me," Mio said, eating sushi.

"First off, don't talk with your mouth full. Second, now I can see why everyone on campus is talking about you. I got friends and neighbors who have daughters who attend the campus and even they talk about your fine performance."

"Thanks a lot."

"Who's the Juliet girl here? I know one of your plays the role."

"That's me, Mrs. Ichimonji~~~~!" Ritsu said, bubbly.

"Your performance was so beautiful. You sound like me when I was your age. Of course it was a different time and setting but that's beside the point. You were exceptional. Who's the scriptwriter?"

"That's me," Mugi said.

"Good work. It was a very good translation of the text, and everybody ended up seeing an excellent interpretation of the play. Wonderful. How's the food?"

"Delicious," they all said.

"My cooking skills haven't failed me yet, apparently," Grandma Tomi replied slyly, to the laughter of the girls. "You know something, Ui-chan here got her cooking talents from me. Yui-chan's able to do it, but she prefers to let me or Ui-chan do it for her."

"Take the initiative, man!" Ritsu said to Yui, pulling her leg.

"Ehhhh, that's mean, Ricchan," Yui protested.

"I'm kidding."

Grandma Tomi went on. "Listen girls, I know you guys will be sleeping down there so make sure you get bundled up and you don't get sick. I will be at the concert tomorrow, so I hope you all do your best."

"Okay, thanks Granny," Ui said.

"Love you, my dear. Buh-bye, good night!" And she hung up.

"Your grandma is one of the nicest people we'll ever meet," Mio said.

"Not as nice as me, love" Ritsu asked.

A headbump. "You're actually more annoying than nice, but you're all right too."

"I brought some dessert from the house," Mugi said to Yui, "so I hope you stay for that."

Yui's eyes sparkled. "Whoa! I am so going to stay for that!"

Mio has her reservation. "But eating sweets at night will..."

Annoyed, Ritsu placed a reassuring hand on Mio's shoulder. "Never fear, my dear."

"Huh?"

"We will be fine no matter when we eat our cake. We'll eat it tonight, then burn it and the midnight oil because...we will be staying up all night!" she said with a wink, a laugh and a smile after looking so serious.

"The fuck...we are?" Azusa exclaimed.

"Of course!" "Ritsu-sempai, what are you on, you freak? What about sleep?"

"Ritsu, why are we going to sacrifice sleep over this?" Mio exclaimed. "You're crazy! The concert is going to be a babyshambles!"

"Here we go," Ui said, elbowing a mesmerized Yui.

"Oh wow," Tsumugi said. "We just had a grueling class play hours ago and now we're doing this. If I only I brought some energy drinks. I apologize for not bringing any."

"Everyone stays up all night to get ready for school festivals, so tradition goes," Ritsu said to the gang.

"You fucking liar..." Azusa grunted with a frown.

Ui was buying into it and gave a reassuring hand on her girl's shoulder. "You're not sleeping tonight, my little kitten," she said with a blatantly naughty tone, winking as well.

Naturally, Azusa shrunk in fear. "Don't get me involved, woman!" They all laughed.

"That's mean, my love. Come here, sweet cheeks. Mmmmm..." Another deep kiss as Ui embraced Azusa. Yui's and Mugi's noses were bleeding. Mio had the look the other way.

"Oh God, not this again," Ritsu groaned.

Jun walked in. "You guys can stay overnight, but did you submit the request form?"

"Awww shit, I forgot!" Ritsu shrieked.

Mio hushed her ladyfriend. "Hey..."

"Don't worry, here's the sheet, fill it out," said Jun, shaking her head in disbelief. Ritsu was Ritsu all over again. Juliet would never forget anything in real life.

"Oooh, is that the request form?" Ritsu squealed. "That's our Jun!" She proceeded to fill the sheet up.

"Anything to help you folks. It's a big day for you guys, so I was ready to do this for you in case you forgot."

"Thanks, Jun-chan," Ui said.

"Well done, that president," Azusa added.

"As expected of Jun Suzuki," said Mio.

"We have some food here," Yui said. "Did you want some?"

"Actually, I already ate some donuts downstairs," Jun replied. "But I'll take one." She grabbed an onigiri.

"Are there a lot of people staying here tonight?"

"Well, tomorrow is Day Two, but are quite a few groups that are gonna make this their dorm for the night. A number of people at the council are expecting a bigger turnout than what you saw today, so you guys better get ready to literally tear the roof apart." The others broke in laughter. "And the camera crew will also be here, too. The NHK guys."

"Heh, heh, heh," Ritsu grinned. "I like what I am seeing here."

"I always wanted to ask this question," said Azusa to Jun. "Why do so many people decide at the last minute, 'Oh, we will go ahead and reserve a room to camp out' instead of reserve it in advance? Don't they have it in their plans or anything?"

"Some do, some don't. And those that initially don't actually need to because of the circumstances regarding their class. Class 3-2 can get some rest because they don't have to practice for a play, and they can enjoy the festival without any commitments. But there are some classes who have yet to perform, and they may need the extra practice because they don't have the play down pat. So they need all the help they can get, and that's why they camp out. You guys are camping out here because you have the concert to prepare for. I would believe that you guys have to do a run-through in the morning to make sure that there aren't any issues. There is a reason for everything."

"Ohhh," said Ritsu.

"Besides, working into the night to prepare for something like this is fun."

She raised an eyebrow, clearly irked. "Un-fucking-believable. This does not sound like you at all!"

"I like to put on different hats."

"The bloody hell you do!"

"But I'll be going home though, guys." She got up.

"Azusa," Nodoka said. "I'm gonna be on my way." She looked at the food. "But first. a little midnight snack."

"It's not midnight yet!" Ritsu exclaimed.

"So the Student Council isn't staying overnight?" Azusa asked.

"We're gonna call it quits for the evening, then come right back first thing in the morning," said Jun.

"Hold on a minute," said Nodoka to the others. "You guys are staying up for the night?"

"Yeah, apparently," Azusa said. Ui yawned. Azusa gave Ui a headbump.

"I'm actually jealous. Sort of."

"Actually, I'm more jealous here," Jun said, "because I want to stay up all night too, but I need to get rest like some of the others."

"This is so not fair," she said before taking off.

"Okay, see you later everybody," said Jun, who also took off.

"Since it's night, we have to practice with the amps off now," Ritsu said.

"What about the drums?" asked Tsumugi.

She tried something. "Let's stack them high like this...and there, we have temporary trap set!"

"Interesting layout you have there," said Ui.

"Don't stack the textbooks, you fool!" Mio said, a palm to her forehead.

"Onee-chan, I'm going to leave as well," Yui said.

"Lock all the doors and don't let any strangers in. Can you do it?" Ui asked.

"Yes, onee-chan."

"Well done, Yui. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," the others said to her, watching Yui take off for the house.

* * *

It was midnight inside the music room, and the sleeping bags where out. One interesting question was whether or not Azusa was going to hear little bit of Ritsu "Lycopene" jingle. Class 3-2 was empty. Most of the students had left, with a few groups actually able to sleep in some of the rooms. As for the light music club, they went on a nightly jaunt, walking around the festival floor, to sound of the neighborhood hounds barking. In the background was some ZZ Top being played. "I Thank You," from Deguello.

"So Azunyan, there was this one fiasco where we couldn't find the tombstone," Ui said to Azusa as Ritsu stretched her arms behind her head. "So we have to settle with something else."

"I was wondering why that looked unusual."

"That's supposed to be a mockup of a Rosetta Stone. You heard of it?"

"Oh yeah, I think I have. It's that Egyptian artifact, right?"

"Correct. We borrowed it as our alternate gravestone. I think it looked better than the one we had."

"Hey Ritsu," said Mio, "I thought you told us were gonna practice nonstop until morning."

"We're just taking a breather." The band had practiced acoustically for an hour and a half on the set of songs selected. Meanwhile, the supply of T-shirts for Day 2 had been shipped to Miss Sawako's office in boxloads and were ready to be sold and sent to the band. T-14 to 15 hours until the show.

Azusa took a look at somebody at the window. Mio wondered what was going on. "Azusa?"

"Hmmm, who could that be?" Ui asked.

"Looks like we do have some students that are planning to stay up for this," Azusa said. "Warriors, the lot of them."

"Come to think of it," said Ritsu. "We were so busy getting ready for the play today that we didn't get to see much of anything else. Aside from the news cameras, we were all cooped up in 3-2 preparing for RomiJuli."

"Hey, since we're already out here," said Mugi, "do you want to go check out the school festival at night?"

"Let's do it. We're gonna be here for the next sixteen, seventeen hours anyway, so, why not? A little adventure to broaden our horizons never hurt no one!"

"Yo guys, check this out," said Ui to the crew, uncovering one of the booths. "It's the meat stall!"

"Are you kidding me?" Ritsu said to the others. "A fake stone wheel, and actual legs of ham? These fools went all out. I haven't savored any of this stuff, but monkey fightin' dammit! I'm impressed."

"I had some at this booth," Azusa added.

"You did, huh?"

"How was it?" Tsumugi asked.

"Pretty yummy," she said to the two of them. "I couldn't eat it all though; it was kind of heavy. So I let Yui take the rest of my bone."

"Oooh!" Ui said, unveiling something special. "Here's some more stuff, and something that knows you well."

"All right, what kind of meat did you find now, Private Hirasawa?" Ritsu asked.

"We found the tombstone, everyone. This...is Juliet's tombstone."

"What the hell?" the others exclaimed.

Ritsu put a palm to her head. "Oh, for fuck's sake! The idiots at Class 2-2 stole the gravestone. Classless sophomore bastards."

"No, I think somebody thought this was supposed to go to Class 2-2. They got the numbers wrong. It's supposed to be addressed to Class 3-2. The people at the stall didn't realize that we needed this for a play, and they didn't know where to put it."

"Jeez Louise, Chizuru is going to be a mixed bag of emotions tomorrow. She's gonna be happy they got the gravestone back, but to have it sent to the wrong class? Whoever sent it them owes us an apology."

"I wonder if they are writing it now."

"But I guess it does seem to fit in with the fake stone tools and the wheel," Ritsu noted.

"We still have some food up in the music room," Tsumugi said, "so how about we bring the food to the Occult Club as a sign of our gratitude?"

"Good idea, Mugi. We all have to thank them on behalf of the class. It's like a peace cigar type of thing. We're not old enough to smoke yet, but that's a different story."

"Ehhh?" Mio had her reservations.

"What's that?" Ritsu asked, in her usual tease. "Are you scared of the dark?"

"N-Not really. As long as...you're around."

"Good girl. Oww!" Another headbump. "I was gonna get that anyway."

"You'll be fine, cousin RoMio," said Ui. "Let's roll. Strike, drum."

As Ritsu played a little air drums, the band brought the remaining leftovers to the Occult Club.

"Looks like they're still up," Ui said.

"I wonder what they are getting ready for," said Azusa.

"I think they're doing a séance," Ritsu inferred. "Here goes nothing."

Tsumugi opened the door. "Excuse us," she said.

"Ah, it's you students," said one of the members, dangling a toy cow over a witches' brew. "Welcome back. Come in. Did you need something?"

"We just wanted to hand you this as a symbol of our thanks, from the wonderful ladies of Class 3-2 and the light music club," Ritsu said, handing onigiri to the members.

"Thank you for the gift," said one of the members.

"We appreciate your kindness," the other said, eating.

"If you get the chance tomorrow, you may come see our presentation on cattle mutilation. We look forward to your arrival."

"We will keep that in mind," Ritsu said with a chuckle. The others nodded.

"Thank you very much," said Ui with a nod.

"And maybe we'll become cattle ourselves," Mio said with a hesitant laugh.

"We would like to inform you that no humans will be harmed in our discussion tomorrow, rest assured," said one of the members.

"Are you all right, Mio-chan?" Mugi asked her.

"I'm still alive, thank God. Heheh, heheheheh..."

She turned to the members. "In that case, if you are able to, do come see our concert. There are actually a few extra seats available, so if you are able to watch us, you will not be disappointed."

"We have heard of you and your music, and we have high respect for your work," said one of the members. "Your music refreshes and uplifts our souls and keeps us motivated. We do, however, want to keep the interests of the club as our utmost priority, so there are no guarantees that we will be present. But understanding that this is your last concert together as a group, we will try our best to make it if possible."

"We're going to cattle out Mio on the stage!" Ritsu said. "And we'll brand her our special club iron on her rear before we tear the place apart!"

"No, you won't!" Mio growled, giving Ritsu another headbump.

"Oww!"

"Why only you, Mio-chan?" Ui asked. "I want to also join in."

"They are an interesting bunch of students aren't they?" asked one Occult Club member to the other.

"Very, and unique," she replied.

"You're actually jealous?" Azusa said with a frown to Ui.

"I'm just pulling people's hind legs apart here. Oh, I think that is a form of it, my apologies."

"What this 'cattle Mio on the stage' thing all about?" Tsumugi wanted to know from Ritsu.

"Don't ask about that. It's classified information."

They spent 30 minutes with the club, and also got to see the demonstration ahead of the others.

"Well, there's another club we got to know, the Occult Club," said Ritsu to the crew, zipped up in their track suits. Azusa's was red because she was a sophomore. The others were in blue. "Also known as Shizuka Kinoshita's friends. Man, I love school festivals! The fact that this is my last one as a student makes it all the more sweeter."

Naturally, the sleeping bags were laid out, this time in a star formation. From Ton-chan's end clockwise: Azusa, Tsumugi, Mio, Ritsu, Ui.

"I' can't agree with you more," Azusa said.

"Damn, we still have some more onigiri here," Ui said.

Tsumugi, unfortunately, didn't bring the tea this time. "You want me to send the rest to Miss Sawako?"

"But she told us not to peek," Mio said to her.

"I can wait by the door and hand her the food without peeking."

"Maybe she'll return to the moon if we peek in," Ui said. "At least that's what Yui thinks."

"That's the Bamboo Princess for you," Ritsu replied.

"You know the legend?"

"I live, breathe, eat, and drink this sort of stuff every day."

"No you don't," Mio retorted, to which Ritsu stuck her tongue out. Ritsu and Ui were in stitches. "Guys, is it really that funny to you?" In the background was some disco music. New York City-based band GQ, with "Disco Nights."

"You know, I realized something," Ui said to her. "Doesn't being as school during the night get you in a very funky mood? I mean, there's some disco music playing outside right now."

"Totally feeling it, yo!" said Ritsu. "I got the urge to do so much, man!"

"We have a concert to do though, you need some sleep," Mio complained.

Ui turned to Azusa, who was texting on her phone. Apparently, she was downloading some doujins and was getting stimulated somehow. "The urge, the urge. Hey Azunyan, what are ya doin', sweetums? I've got the urge to sex you, baby~~~~!" A light tap on the shoulder, and a pinch of the cheek.

"Huh? Nya!" she shrieked. "Ui-sempai, knock it off! What do you want? Sheesh..."

"I just felt like teasing you, my love."

"Just over that? You are so full of pie, Ui-sempai."

"Cake, cake. I'm trying to correct you here, A-zu-nyan!"

"Mou!"

"Everyone is getting weird all of a sudden," Mio said, a dejected look on her face.

"Okay then, let's write one more song for the concert," Tsumugi said to the others.

Mio turned to her, bewildered. "What? Now?"

"Hey, Mugi's gone off the deep end, too," Ritsu said.

"Guys, I got an idea!" Ui said, lying on her back. "I want to make the 'Attractive Protractor' song! Can I? You know I got mad skillz."

"Rejected! I think it's time for a little 'Bags Go Bang!'."

"No, 'Attractive Protractor!'"

"'Bang Go Bang!'"

"'Attractive Protractor!'"

"'Bags Go bang!'"

They went at it for the longest time.

Eventually, Mio joined the mayhem. "Okay then, let's make it 'Raccoon's Newly Washed Love'!"

"What's with your fascination with the word 'then'?"

"Personal accent, maybe?"

Azusa was laughing. "Hey, now Azusa is joining in the whole ruckus."

"It's really late, guys," she said. "I want the song about feeding Ton-chan. But really, we should be getting some sleep."

"Hey guys," said Tsumugi, asleep, "I haven't had any yakisoba yet. Please Lord, please save me..."

"She's asleep already?" Mio asked.

"Damn, that was quick," Ritsu said to her.

"I'll go ahead and turn off the lights," Azusa said. "Ready?"

"No, Azunyan." Ui said lustily. She turned the lights off anyway. "Oh, the darkness! Nooooo!"

Ritsu was also getting into the spirit of things. "I want you to take your clothes off and show me your everything, because I'm so friggin' horny right now! I need to get off dammit!"

They all laughed except for Mio. "Ritsu! Shut the fuck up you creep!"

She proclaimed her innocence. "Lycopene?"

"She said it, she said it," Ui said to the others laughing, except for Mio. "Good night."

One more headbump for Ritsu, just for good measure. "Ow! Why me, RoMio! Aren't I your wife?"

A few more laughs, and all was silent. By the time it was lights out, the clock read 2:51 a.m. JST, Sunday. They weren't going to get a lot of sleep in the music room. the morning would come very quickly, and with it, the most important day yet, for the members of the light music club.

Ui was wrapped in her sleeping bag, and rolled over to Azusa, who was still getting inside. "Ha, gotcha!"

"Come on, Ui-sempai. You gotta save your energy for the concert. Oh, whatever, my love."

Eventually, the band was sleeping in their bags as the early morning sun started to slowly crawl across the Pacific. Mio was fast asleep, thinking in her dreams about all that happened, and all that would happen. Everything that the club worked for the past few years finally came down to the concert that would take place several hours from now. It's as if the music room was the band's hotel. Everyone was staying the night in the same room, and it did have a band-like feel to it.

Ritsu was thinking about it. Tsumugi was thinking about it. And Yui and Azusa were thinking about it as well. Forget about the Akita howling in the background. Ton-chan looked on as if to say: "Sweet dreams, ladies. Destiny awaits you very soon."

Actually, Azusa's eyes were fixated skyward, lost in thought. She still wondered if the band would be fine. But worrying too much would not do her any good. She looked at Ui, who was silent and still. Azusa had to chuckle. Of all the sempai in the band that she was closest to, Ui was the one. It was right then and there that she chose to forgive Ui for all the trouble she caused, for everything. It was the least she could do. And for being, just having Azusa next to her made her happy enough. She was in her own happy place, Ui was.

Her eyes were fixated to the sky, smiling with confidence. "Destiny awaits us hours from now," she said. "May the Lord give us his blessings this day to bring out the best in all of us." Finally, Azusa closed her eyes.

* * *

Morning came to the school festival site. 6:40 a.m. JST. The poor souls didn't even get four hours of sleep. The light from the afterglow graced the faces of those waking up to the birds singing. Morning had indeed broke.

Miss Sawako walked to the door and opened it. She didn't sleep a wink. "Rise and shine, Hokago Tea Time! Your outfits for the concert are ready!" She looked at them. "They're sleeping. Hey guys! Wake up! Please! I have your outfits here!"

She walked over to Ritsu. "Don't ignore me," Sawako wailed, shaking her. "That hurts the most! Wake up! What have you idiots been doing all night? Don't tell me you stayed up to do God-knows-what?"

"I'm sorry, Sawa-chan, we're too tired to say anything right now," Ritsu said in a groggy voice. "Forgive us, forgive us...we don't mean to do it on purpose..."

She was in tears. "Oh my God! Come on, dammit! Do I have to send the paramedics on you lot?"

"We're too damn tired...we're not gonna die..."

"But I made it for you," she said, holding a shirt. They all reacted.

"Whoa!" they all said.

"Finally, you guys wake up!" Sawako exclaimed. "Hallelujah, my babies didn't give up the ghost yet! Thank you Lord Jesus, my Savior!"

"That looks awesome." The design, once again: a white tee with the band's initials in pink with a black border over a light blue star with a gold outline.

"While you guys were working, 3,000 of these were being sold yesterday," Sawako said. "I ordered 5 for you guys and 2,000 more for the people coming in, as well as for the school," Sawako said. "All the students, faculty and staff will get one of these."

"That looks cute," Azusa said.

"That's beyond cute, that's epic!" Ui added.

"Good work, Miss Sawako!"

"Rock on, Sawa-chan!" Ritsu said.

"Beautiful," Mio added before sleeping.

Sawako's morale got lifted higher in spite of her apparent insomnia. "Yes, yes...this is it baby! Wooooooo! I need all your love. Praise me more! Heaven awaits the willing! Testify, you sisterhood of rock, the pride of the Cherry Blossoms! Amen!"

"Good work, Miss Sawako!" Ui said.

"More! More cowbell!"

"Tink, tink, tink!" Tsumugi added, imitating its sound.

"Ohhh yeah, who love me baby! You do!"

"Good work, Sawako!" Ritsu exclaimed.

"I need you bring me the love! Bring me the love!"

"Good luck, Miss Sawako!"

"Amen!"

A member of the student council posted the schedule of events by the auditorium. The NHL camera crew arrived back, and prepared for Day 2 of the school festival.

Eight hours remained until the concert, which would be televised, along with the Drama Club's rendition of "Gone With The Wind." HTT was performing after the Magic Club's magic show, and the Comedy Club's act, Daiquiri, which was an assorted set of comedy skits set in the Mediterranean.

If there was ever such a thing as 30 minutes of fame, this was it. And at 3:00 p.m. JST on Sunday, Hokago Tea Time was ready to fly the flag for the Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus once more.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 19**


	20. It's A Long Way To The Top

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 20:**

**It's a Long Way To The Top**

* * *

Day 2 of the Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus School Festival was destined to be one to remember as a couple of second-year students got supplies ready and the other classes and clubs prepared to open up shop. As expected, the camera crews from the national networks were on the scene to prepare to deliver all the action from the auditorium, and there was a long queue of Hokago Tea Time fans waiting to get inside the cozy confines. It was another wonderful day, with a few clouds in the horizon against wonderful shades of blue.

It was 7:00 a.m. Japan Standard Time. In eight hours, the most defining moment of the Light Music Club would take place. Fireworks were being hauled on to be fired from the roof and the athletic field. They would be used later in the afternoon. The flagpole that day had the Hinomaru, a flag with the school's emblem, and a special flag with the HTT crest on it.

The public address announcer played "Kimigayo" before transitioning to a voice over the system. "Ladies and gentlemen, good morning and welcome to the School Festival here at the Sakuragaoka High School Girls' Campus. We are so pleased to have you here on Day 2 of this wonderful event. We have a magic show, slapstick comedy, and the Drama Club's rendition of 'Gone with the Wind' for your enjoyment in the auditorium, but our headline act today is the light music club's concert, which is certified an official sellout. Following the concert, there will be an autograph session upstairs inside the music room on the third floor of the main building. The session will be first-come, first-served. And of course, be sure to savor the other food stalls and rooms inside the main building, which have been constructed by our wonderful student body. Once again, we hope you enjoy your time at the School Festival here at the Sakuragaoka High School Girls' Campus."

After which, it transitioned to some rock music, featuring some of Hokago Tea Time's songs that were recorded in the music room, like "U&I," "Genius...!", "Fude Pen", and the world-famous "Fuwa Fuwa Time," the latter which started the set of continuous music. Of course, it was juxtaposed with some dance tracks from around the world. The DJ had a fetish for artists like David Guetta, among other artists. One can only wonder.

As promised, Grandma Tomi Ichimonji brought breakfast for the band members, who were back in their iconic uniforms. "And that should do it," Ritsu Tainaka said, writing some hiragana marks on Mio Akiyama's left hand and arm with a marker. "Shaboom."

"She's sleeping like a princess, as usual," Ui Hirasawa said to her and Tsumugi Kotobuki. "And we expected nothing less."

"When you are exhausted from being Romeo, you take longer to recharge than others," Mugi added.

Ritsu zipped Mio up tight, who immediately sprung up like a zombie cocoon. "Aaaaaand, good morning, Mio!"

"Morning, Mio-chan," Ui and Tsumugi chorused.

"Good morning, you guys," she said to the three of them before getting out of her sleeping bag. Then she noticed the marks. Tsumugi watch with amazement as Mio level of rage rose very quickly to start the morning off.

Ritsu was going to feel it. "Heh."

"YOU MOTHERFUCKEING CUNT!" Mio laid a roundhouse kick to Ritsu's abdomen, sending her flying across the room towards the door.

"Owww...shit..."

"And thus, the old saying goes," said Ui to a nodding Azusa, who was silently eating her breakfast with a look of exasperation, "what goes around, comes around."

* * *

"Rika Ichizawa here at the Sakuragaoka High School Festival once again," the news anchorwoman said on the scene, "This is Day 2 of the festival, and Hokago Tea Time is scheduled to perform today at their concert this afternoon. We have some HTT fans with us here. First off, what's your name?"

"Mikoto Misaka, third-year student, Tokiwadai Junior High School in Academy City."

"Why did you buy tickets to the concert?"

"I think HTT is a wonderful band, and they play really great music, bar none."

"Who's your favorite band member?"

"Yui may be a special needs student, but you don't have to be perfect to be awesome, so she is my favorite."

"Ah, wonderful. And, what is your name?"

"Kuroko Shirai, also in the same grade and school as onee-sama."

"Nope, you're actually one grade lower than me," Mikoto said, shaking a finger.

"Oh yeah, I was getting ahead of myself."

"Yes, you were getting ahead of yourself."

"Onee-sama?" Rika asked.

"We're not related by blood," said Kuroko, "but Mikoto is still my onee-sama."

"Fabulous. Anyway, why did you get tickets for the concert?"

"I think Hokago Tea Time is a band that will be very successful in what they do best. I heard about them from onee-sama. She is a fan of the band. And I got my camera ready to take some photos."

"You're with Judgment. Did you get an OK to come down here?"

"I talked with Konori-sempai and she said I could have the day off, and that's why I'm here."

"Mmmm. Who's you're favorite band member?"

"Oh, I think I'm going to go with Akiyama-sempai."

"Mio, right?"

"Yes, yes. I hear she wears some awesome stripes. I wonder if onee-sama is wearing any under her sho-OW!"

"Shut up!" Mikoto roared before dragging her by the ear to the other stalls.

"Well that was interesting," Rika said. "Anyway, on with some other famous fans with us today. Your name?"

"Aoi Yamada, a waitress at Wagnerian Cafe."

"Off day for you?"

"Correct."

"Why did you get tickets?"

"Poplar and I wanted to see what this band was all about, and the tickets were pretty cheap. I hear that they are pretty good."

"Who's your favorite band member?"

"Azusa. I would love to have her work at our restaurant."

"I see. And who might you be?"

"Oh, my name is Poplar Taneshima!" she exclaimed. "Hello everyone on TV! Wagnerian represent, woot woot!"

Rika laughed. "Why did you purchase tickets for this concert?"

"This band is one of my favorites. I am so hyped up to see them. I even bought my T-shirt, check it out! Oh yeah! Oh yeah! HTT Number One fan, right here, uh huh!"

"Calm down," Aoi said.

"Who's your favorite band member?" Rika asked Poplar.

"Ricchan, baby! Drumming my heart away! Ah, the sweet beats are immeasurable! Kyaaaa!"

"A Ritsu fan with us. Here's another one. Your name? Oh, I'm sorry; you are the governor of our prefecture, Mr. Shintarou Ichihara!"

"No harm done, no harm done," he said. "I am glad you noticed."

"You know, I was wondering why there were so many security guards here with you."

"Rest assured, they are very nice people, isn't that right, gentlemen?"

"Yes, sir!" said his entourage of seven in identical Crazy 88-esque outfits and shades.

Rika smiled. "So, what brings you to a concert like this? Shouldn't you be taking care of the city?"

"I have my staff in my office to answer any issues that may come to my attention. Aside from that, I am reminded of the days of my youth when coming to festivals like this. After I watch the concert, I will visit the Boys Campus, and then I will return to my office to catch up."

"Who's your favorite band member?"

"I have to say Miss Tsumugi Kotobuki. One of my longtime friends works with Miss Kotobuki's father as a business partner, and I have nothing but rave reviews for her skill at playing the keyboard."

"I noticed that you have your shirt on."

"I believe it is important to come to a concert prepared."

"Thank you, Mr. Ishihara. We have one more here, and this is a foreigner visiting on holiday. What is your name?" she asked the gentleman in English.

"Roger Jones."

"Where are you from?"

"Tulsa, Oklahoma."

"Wow! In the middle of America. Well, Mr. Jones, what brings you to a place like this?"

"Well, this was part of a travel package we had. This day was our leisure day, and we decided to find out for ourselves what a school festival is. We're impressed by how everything was planned."

"Did you also come here for the concert?"

"Yes, we did. I brought my wife and two kids with me to this event, and they actually listen to the band's music. I forgot the name of the band..."

"Hokago Tea Time."

"Yes, that band. Hokago Tea Time. They're good. Just need to improve a little bit more, but I think they will be a band the country will be familiar with later on down the road."

"Actually, they are going to be on TV."

"Oh, is that right? That changes everything. Fabulous. Congratulations to them, then."

"Who's your favorite band member from HTT?"

"I gotta go with Mio Akiyama. I own a bass that is exactly similar to what she plays, as well as a guitar and few cowbells, but it's the bass that is my favorite instrument. Plus, I think she is beautiful, though she's not as beautiful as my wife."

"Quiet, my love," said Mrs. Sheri Jones with a laugh.

"We are like peas in a pod."

Rika laughed as well. "Wonderful stuff. That's the scene here so far from the Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus. Streaming coverage will begin at 8:00 a.m. JST on nhk[DOT]jp, and live televised coverage will take place beginning at 2:45 p.m. JST. Hiroki, back to you."

* * *

One more headbump to go with the roundhouse kick. "Ouch!" Ritsu cried. "I give up, I give up! Uncle, uncle!"

"You cock-sucking whore of a bitch, why the hell did you write on my arm and hand while I was sleeping you punk!" Mio roared violently. "Do you fucking understand how long this shit's gonna wear off? Well, do you? Huh?"

"Ui, Mio hit me!" she wailed to her.

"Shouldn't have done what you did," Ui replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"Fucker, you didn't even answer my question!" Mio growled to Ritsu. "Why did you do this? Answer me!"

"I did it so that you wouldn't be nervous."

"Asshole! I'll be composed without you writing this tripe on my arm and hand. If the concert finishes, and the marks are still there, I'm giving you another headbump and I'll ram your face through the door, you heartless excuse for a Juliet!"

"Awww, but I thought writing that many would work."

"And apparently, she made your lifeline thicker," Ui said. "Don't take my word for it. It's from Ricchan."

Mio looked at her open hand and saw a long thick mark in the center of her palm. She used her tattooed palm to slap Ritsu in the face.

"Ow!" Ritsu cried, her plight added exponentially.

Mio quickly got back in her uniform, scrubbing away the marks in the process.

* * *

Inside the auditorium, the cameras were already filming, and the streaming web coverage was taking place. A little magic show from the Magic Club was in order, to the strains of some random Spanish tango music. A couple of members were in Chinese garb. A picture of a white rabbit turned into that of a black one with a few spins. Cue the applause. And the beat went on.

Meanwhile, Jun Suzuki, the student council president, looked on with anticipation as the band prepared for their morning run-through in the music room. "Another day, another dollar," she sang to herself while members of the Comedy Club were looking at their lines for their "Daiquiri" skits.

Back to business, then. Mio wrote the words pumpkin on her hand and swallowed it. She hopes that the audience—even the camera people—would all be wearing pumpkin heads.

Ritsu looked at her with a smile, then turned to the others, who had also finished eating breakfast. "Okay, we're all good; let's get going!"

"Ease up, Mio-chan," Ui said with a thumbs up. "This is what we live for. In front of a national TV audience. You live to be in the limelight. You live to be awesome. The time is now, and we are at the crossroads."

"Don't forget," Tsumugi added, pumping her fists enthusiastically, "we had that special training, too."

"That's what she said," Azusa chimed.

Mio nodded. "Right, Mugi."

"It's time for us to play our brand of rock and roll."

"Got it."

Ritsu raised a fist in the air. "All right everybody! Let's rock this place!"

"Yeah!" joined the others, raising their fists.

"This is our concert!" Mugi cried.

"Yeah!" the others said, raising, their fists.

"The best concert in the history of our school!" Azusa chimed.

"Yeah!"

Ui's turn. "And we're gonna sign some autographs and dive into some cake and tea when we're done!"

"Yeah! Wait, what?" they all asked.

"Miss Sawako told me earlier before she left to get herself a power nap that we'll be signing autographs here after the show. And there's gonna be a long line, too."

"Oh," Ritsu said. "Well, in that case, one more time! Do I hear a yeah!"

"YEAH!" they all cried.

"Hell yeah!"

The five of them, running on little sleep, were still energized. It did help that Grandma Tomi brought in canisters of Red Bull to ensure their performance was right where the fans wanted it to be.

Outside, the DJ on the PA was playing the Ramones. For the 118th time at the festival, the band's anthem: Blitzkrieg Bop.

After one final run-through, the girls put on their soon-to-be-famous Hokago Tea Time shirts and made their way down the stairs and the hall towards the auditorium on angel's wings. Once again, the shirts were flying off the shelves at the designated stalls outside the ticket window, and customers were snapping it up. Many never heard of the band, but they did have tickets. They would be in for a treat.

The hour was fast approaching, and the instruments were being brought to the auditorium. Destiny came toward the light. The time was 2:45 p.m. JST.

* * *

Back there, the Comedy Club was wrapping up their "Daiquiri" session. The seats were beginning to be filled, and the live televised broadcast was on the air, starting with a pre-performance preview, highlighting some of the other performances that already took place.

Ui, Mio, Ritsu, Tsumugi, and Azusa arrived backstage. "Well done, well done, well done, well done, ladies," Ritsu said to the Comedy Club. 'You guys were awesome." She turned to the crew, the fire now in her eyes. "Okay, let's get the instruments out. Here we go."

"Right!" the others nodded.

Quickly, the band broke out the guitars, keyboard and drums. The drum set was placed in the top right corner of the stage, with the keyboard across on the top left, and microphones were placed at each station.

Now donning her trusted friend Gitah, her trusted Gibson Les Paul, Ui fixed her microphone to ensure that it was positioned correctly. Mio did the same with her Fender Jazz bass Elizabeth on, as well as did Azusa with her guitar Muttan, her Fender Mustang. A few presses on Mugi's keyboard to ensure it was on, and a few taps of the skins and brass from Ritsu. Azusa tweaked the amplifiers to a comfortable level.

Ritsu gave a thumbs up to the others. "And so far, all systems go."

"Roger that captain, here at the auditorium," Ui said. "Hello, we must be on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine when we're done."

"I wouldn't go that far, but everybody is going to know us when we are done. And I mean everybody. This is gonna be televised. Good grief. If Satoshi is watching this—hopefully in person—I gotta make my bro proud of me!"

"You know something?"

"What's up?"

"This is, like, our third—count it, THIRD—School Festival concert."

"Oh yeah, you know it. Here's a history lesson, a little refresher from yours truly. We were a bit nervous during our first one a couple years back. My, how the times have changed."

"Two years ago..." Mio said, the images of "The Incident" causing her face to break out in a sweat. "Please don't mention that anymore."

"No, I wasn't talking about that you fool!"

"But you know something, last year was a different case."

"Hold it, hold it, hold it, Missy," Ui said to her. "I forgot about Gitah and because of that I had to run all the way back to campus just to play with you guys. And that was coming off the coattails of a fever I suffered because I was by your bedside when you had a fever. Remember?"

"Oh yeah, that, too."

"I still have regret about what happened back then. I don't want to think about it anymore."

"We won't let you, we won't let you," they responded, flailing a little to comfort Ui.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said Jun Suzuki over the intercom, "welcome once again to the Auditorium at Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus for our 2010 School Festival. The Sakuragaoka Girls Campus student body acknowledges that you have been waiting finally for this wonderful moment. We would like to let you know that this event is being broadcast nationally by NHK, TBS, TV Asahi, TV Tokyo and Fuji TV, and is streaming live on all of their sites as we speak." The news was met with rapturous applause. "Up next, the pride of the school, Sakuragaoka's sweetest sound, takes to the stage: it's Hokago Tea Time, the band of our very own Light Music Club!"

"Dammit Jun, don't raise the bar for us," Ritsu whispered in despair. Ui turned to her with a grin and thumbs up. "Good God..."

"You gotta love it," Ui said. "Here we go."

"Oh hell," Mio whimpered. "Not again. Not that again!" The horror from the snafus of the past was still fresh.

"Believe in yourself, Mio-chan," Tsumugi said. "Believe in yourself! You'll be fine."

Ui turned to Mio. "Here's a fact: something that's happened twice will happen again."

"What?"

"That's not helping her at all," Ritsu deadpanned.

Mio got her strings tangled up at their first school festival. At the gig in Tokyo the previous Christmas, the cords also got tangled up and they fell on top of each other. And this time, Ui got caught in her own guitar cord but was able to break her fall without going face down and damaging her guitar.

"Ui-sempai!" Azusa exclaimed, showing a deep concern for her ladyfriend.

"I'm all right. I'm fine."

The curtain rose. And the crowd roared. Ui turned around and saw chants of "HTT! HTT!", banners on the rafters saluting the band for their efforts, signs of the girls as well as words of encouragement and gratitude, and flags were flying in the air. These were the flags that had HTT's insignia on it, and they were being waved from the balcony. All the members of the Mio Fan Club were there, as were a number of celebrities and distinguished guests. People were also glued to their seats in the rooms that were available for visitors to watch the show via closed-circuit TV. Even the gymnasium was open, with the action conveyed via a projector. Everyone was watching: from the school, to the city, to the country, and, via internet, to the world.

Ui got up and put Gitah on. "That's better." She scanned around, and noticed below her that the members of Class 3-2 were back. They got their shirts from the stall at no charge. "Hey guys. You're wearing our shirts. Beautiful," she said, beaming.

"They're all wearing the same shirt as us," Azusa exclaimed. A few students took photos of the band, as did some tourists next to them.

Jun went up to the stage, now dressed in her own HTT shirt. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's give them a big round of applause, shall we?" And so they did.

"Jun-chan's doing the MC-ing here," Ui said. "Should have known."

"Hey, Jun, what the hell are you doing?" Mio asked, visibly embarrassed by the spectacle of it all.

"Hey, as the president of the Mio Fan Club," she said to her, "it was my duty."

"Good work," Ui said to her.

"But what about the T-shirts all the people are wearing?" Azusa asked. Indeed, everyone in the audience was wearing the shirt.

"We sold out the entire supply within hours of opening, and the students, faculty and staff got to get one for free. You should be thanking our teacher/your advisor for getting it done," Jun said, pointing to a now well-rested Sawako Yamanaka, who gave a wink and a peace sign. Ui gave two peace signs and a smile. Interestingly, some fans in the back were using the shirt as a rally towel, spinning it around in the air in the manner of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"Amazing," Ui gasped. "Thanks Miss Sawako! You rock!"

"All right!" she replied.

"Wow," Azusa whispered in disbelief.

"Let's thank Miss Sawako Yamanaka, the club's advisor, for the shirts, shall we?" asked Jun to the audience.

"Thanks, Miss Sawako!" Nobuyo Nakajima said to her.

Keiko Iida joined in. "Thanks a lot!"

Ushio Oota concurred. "Awesome stuff!"

"Hah, I scored a coup d'etat," Sawako said to herself, blushing madly in her own euphoria. "It is here! This is it!"

"How's everybody doing!" Ui shouted over the microphone, at which the crowd roared. "As you already know right about now, we are Hokago Tea Time, and we are on the air!" Another roar. "Everyone, we want to thank you for your support of us and our music. We dedicate this concert for you, as our way of showing our undying appreciation for what you've done for us." She started to shed a few tears.

"She's already crying," Ritsu said as an aside to the others.

"Good one, prez!" said one of the seniors.

Ui went on. "We've done so much over these past three years we have been together—two with our soon to be club president, Azusa Nakano—that if the time we had as a band and a club will come to an end, it will go with a bang." Applause. "I'll turn it over to our club vice-president, Mio Akiyama, to say a few words. Mio."

"Th-Thank you for your support," she said. And the Mio Fan Club squealed in delight, cueing the audience to also applaud. The flashbulbs were out

"All right, here's our first song for you. It's a piece that I wrote myself and the others composed, it's called...Gohan wa Okazu. Rice is a Side Dish."

"What the heck?" said some of the students.

"Exactly. Have a listen, children. Ready?" They others nodded. "Take it, Ricchan."

On cue, Ritsu counted it out. "1, 2, 3, 4!"

Tsumugi's melodic lead-in gave way to Yui on vocals. And so, Hokago Tea Time's concert with destiny began, and Ui got the students ready to go.

* * *

_"Rice is amazing. It goes with anything. Warm, warm!_

_Ramen, udon, okonomiyaki and such and such._

_It's a dream collaboration,_

_Between carbohydrates and carbohydrates?_

_(Hot, hot! Warm, warm!)_

_Rice is amazing. It's a pain to not have any._

_Instead rice will be the side dish._

_For Kansai people of course it has to be okonomiyaki & rice._

_But I'm not from Kansai._

_(What!)_

_1-2-3-4-GO-HA-N!_

_1-2-3-4-GO-HA-N!_

_Rice is amazing. It goes with anything. Warm, warm!_

_Kimchi, natto, raw eggs and such and such._

_White rice is a pure white canvas,_

_For an Infinite imagination._

_(Hot, hot! Warm, warm!)_

_Rice is amazing. It's a pain to not have any._

_Of course rice is the staple food._

_For Japanese people anyway, it should be rice instead of bread._

_"Rice isn't a side dish!"_

_"Ah…I kinda forgot~"_

_"Hey!"_

_Rice is amazing. It goes with anything. Warm, warm!_

_Yakisoba, takoyaki, tonpeiyaki and such and such._

_It's a dream collaboration,_

_Between carbohydrates and carbohydrates?_

_(Hot, hot! Warm, warm! Go, go!)_

_Rice is amazing. It's a pain to not have any._

_Instead rice will be the side dish._

_For Kansai people of course it has to be okonomiyaki & rice._

_I was from Kansai in a past life!_

_(What!)_

_1-2-3-4-GO-HA-N!_

_1-2-3-4-GO-HA-N!_

_1-2-3-4-GO-HA-N!_

_1-2-3-4-GO-HA-N!"_

* * *

Rapturous applause and the roars of the crowd could be heard as the first number concluded. Across the country, men, women and children were dancing the beat. Such a magnificent sight. The numerous camera angles the networks put just added to the viewership. This was slated to be the most-viewed program in the afternoon time slot for the second day in a row.

"That was Gohan wa Okazu. How do you like that?" Ui said over the microphone.

"YEEEAAAAHHHH!" roared the crowd.

"That's what we wanted to hear."

Nodoka Manabe and Yui Hirasawa were also there, decked in their issued HTT shirts, while those fans on the balcony continued to wave them around incessantly. Yui, meanwhile, was waving a large HTT flag.

"That was fantastic!" Ushio said, taking a photo of the crew with her mobile.

"Once again, as you know," Ui said, "we are the world-famous Hokago Tea Time—"

"Wait a second, world-famous?" Ritsu asked her.

"Yeah, we are because we're being broadcast online." The crowd laughed. "That counts."

"Ohhhhh." More laughter, and applause.

Ui went on. "All of our senior members are in Class 3-2. As you can see, some of them are at the front of the stage. You can say that they are our roadies. Say hi to the viewers, sisters!"

The broadcast c-ameras panned across the members of Class 3-2, who were waving and blowing kisses.

Ui continued. "Yesterday, all of us put on the production of Romeo and Juliet, and it was so much work. Come to think of it, I have a question. Raise your hands if you were at the play yesterday and saw our bass player Mio Akiyama as the dashing Romeo Montague."

They all did.

"Goddamn, well this is old hat to you, then!" Ui said, as the crowd broke in laughter and applause. "She was awesome. Let's give it up for her!" The squeals of the Mio Fan Club were apparent. "Hey Mio-chan," Ui said to her, "go say something."

"Like what?" she asked.

"Recite one of your lines, RoMio."

She waved it off. "No! I can't do that!"

"Ehhhhh? But that's no fun..."

"Hey RoMio," Ritsu said to her, "come on. You still remember your lines, don't you?"

Mio turned to her, flustered. "Stop pushing me, you freak!" Eventually, she did comply after the crowd urged her on. "Ah, dear Juliet, why art thou yet so fair? Shall I believe that unsubstantial Death is amorous, and that the lean abhorred monster keeps thee here in dark to be his paramour? For fear of that I still will stay with thee and never from this palace of dim night depart again."

Naturally, the Mio Fan Club squealed in uncontrollable delirium as the cameras came out in full force. Mio blushed as came to terms with the fact she was RoMio for a few fleeting seconds. "RoMio! RoMio!" they all chanted in the back.

"Who loves ya baby!" said one visitor from the Boys Campus, his nosebleed leaving an indelible stain on his shirt.

"That's mai waifu right there!" roared another with a laugh.

Ui continued with her emcee work. "And we also had our drumming virtuoso Ritsu Tainaka as Juliet. Ricchan, go say one of your lines."

"What the hell, it's now my turn?" she exclaimed.

"Yes, it is. Go."

"I forgot them already," she said with a pout.

"What, you will leave thine own star-cross'd lover alone to pine?" Mio shot back. "Say one of thine own lines. Make haste, dear Jurietsu!"

"Fine, fine."

"Head up to the stage," Ui said.

Taking a deep breath, she did. Here she went. "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name! Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet."

The crowd roared, and the students squealed. "Hell yeah, lovergirl!" said a visitor from England who had tickets to the show.

"You're a cutie, Ritsu," Nobuyo said.

"All right, Ritsu, baby!" Keiko chimed.

"Thanks, thanks, thanks," replied the flustered tomboy skinbanger, going back to her set with a wave before picking up her sticks, twirling them around idly.

"By the way," Ui said, "I was Tree 'G'. I didn't say anything but I almost sneezed in Act II, Scene II, just to let you know. I was able to survive the issue."

Jun motioned to Azusa to get the next song going by forming a circle with her index. "I did a cafe with my class. But Ui-sempai, we should move on to the next song."

"Good idea. By the way, our keyboardist, Tsumugi Kotobuki wrote the script for the play. Give her a hand." Applause, as always.

"Uh oh, things are looking a little uneasy."

"What was our song again?" Ui asked Ritsu as an aside?

"Hey, you were supposed to write it on a piece of paper and stick it somewhere you fool!"

"Sorry, it looks like I lost it."

"Did you drop it?" Mio asked her.

"I thought I had it in my pocket, but I don't have it apparently."

Now Mugi was breaking into a sweat. "Huh? But we changed into these T-shirts earlier!"

"We did. Uh oh. Hey, whoever is broadcasting this, listen up: it's time for a commercial break. Thank you." Laughter, and applause as Ui tried to search for the missing piece by going herky jerky.

"Believe in yourself, onee-chan," said Yui, giving her sister encouragement while clutching her flag. Nodoka was in stitches.

"On second thought," Ui said, "screw the commercial break: we'll just go ahead and go with something you folks should all know. This is our favorite song. You guys heard of 'Fuwa Fuwa Time'?"

"YEEEAAAHHH!" the crowd roared.

"All right. Well, the time has come for you guys to sing along with us. You ready for some 'Fuwa Fuwa Time'?"

"YEEEAAAAHHH!"

"I can't hear you! Are you ready for some 'Fuwa Fuwa Time'?"

"YEEEEAAAAAHHHH!"

"Let's do it. This is for you! Take it, Ricchan!"

"Right!" Ritsu said. "1, 2, 3, 4!"

Ui got the chords off: C, to F, to G. Then the band joined in, and Ui kicked it off. Guess it couldn't be helped for Mugi.

* * *

_"When I look at you my heart always goes thump-thump_

_Like a marshmallow my swaying feelings are light-and-fluffy_

_Even though I'm continuously looking at your diligent profile_

_You don't notice_

_Even if it's just a dream I can close the distance between the two of us_

_O God please_

_Give me Dream Time just between the two of us?_

_Holding my favorite bunny I go to sleep again tonight?_

_Light and fluffy time, Light and fluffy time, Light and fluffy time_

_Impulsively my heart throbs painfully again today_

_Reading too much into your dry smile I Overheat!_

_Someday your serious face that I witnessed before_

_Will come floating along even if I close my eyes_

_Because it's okay in a dream I want Sweet time between just the two of us_

_O God why_

_Is it painful to fall head over heels in love during Dream night_

_If I take out my precious teddy bear I wonder if I will be fine tonight?_

_If I show a little courage_

_And talk naturally_

_I wonder if anything will change_

_I feel like that but…_

_(But that's the hardest part_

_How do I find a chance to talk_

_Y'know by the time I think about what to say it's completely unnatural_

_Oh geez, no! Time to sleep, sleep, sleep~!)_

_O God please_

_Just this once please give me Miracle time_

_If I could say it smoothly, afterward…something or another will change_

_Light and fluffy time, Light and fluffy time, Light and fluffy time..."_

* * *

At around the same time, back in Class 2-1, it was business as usual at the Mountain Cafe. "Come one, come all!" said one of the student waitresses. The Occult Club was on their break. And Class 2-2's Mammoth Meat stall was making good business as always, exhausting an overstock of ham bones. A flock of city thrushes were chatting with each other on the rooftop of the auditorium.

* * *

"Here you go," said Ichigo Wakaouji to a couple attendees, handing them t-shirts in her deadpan voice.

"You're handing these out for free?" one of them asked.

"We have a few more, so we decided to give them away. And we're asking everybody to wear them during the concert."

"Thank you very much."

* * *

The second number finished, and the chants of the band's initials were immense. "HTT! HTT! HTT!"

"Thank you for singing along to that classic," Ui said. "We love 'Fuwa Fuwa Time' as much as you do. It's time for us to introduce to you guys our fellow members of the Light Music Club and HTT for the 2010-11 school year. First off, our club advisor and Class 3-2 homeroom instructor, Miss Sawako Yamanaka!"

"Eh, why me?" she asked. Nonetheless, the spotlight was on her in the back. A gentleman next to her stroked his chin, clearing his throat and nodding his approval.

"Miss Yamanaka is always kind to us and is a true supporter of all our club activities."

"You guys rock, baby!" she shouted from the back. The crowd roared in approval.

"Thanks a lot!" Ui said as she, Mugi and Ritsu waved at Sawako, who took a bow.

"Next, as previously mentioned, our vice-president and your personal RoMio on bass—heck, the Dangerous Queen's got her own legion of fans here today—it's Miss Mio Akiyama!"

On cue, the Fan Club gave a collective squeal, blushing exuberantly. They cried her name orgasmically, as if mentioned her name got them off quicker than a vibrator. Naturally, Mio bowed.

"Did you say personal RoMio?" Ritsu asked. "She's my RoMio, not yours!"

Ui's face faulted. "Bleh, party foul." The crowd erupted in laughter.

Mio took the microphone. "Hello everyone. My name is Mio Akiyama, and I just was to say thank you for coming to our concert today."

"Mio-chan! Mio-sempai!" cried her Fan Club while the flash bulbs came out.

"I've had the opportunity to be in a band with these wonderful girls. It has been the time of my life, and I am forever grateful to you all! Thank you everybody!" The Fan Club was captive.

"By the way, if you guys want to join the Mio Fan Club that is here, talk with the club president, my friend Miss Jun Suzuki, and she'll get you started," Ui said, pointing to her.

"Eh?" Nodoka was startled.

"Jun-chan is my childhood friend. She's also Class 3-2's president, the school's Student Council President, and she is very smart and outgoing. Give it up for her."

"Stop, Ui!" But the light was on her.

"Say a word for this wonderful group of people."

"Why?" she whispered to her.

"Just do it."

"Just move on to the next person."

"You owe me a box of your delicious donuts next week then, Jun." Laughter. "Anyway, next up, our keyboardist who is the daughter of one of the richest businesspeople in the country and is part-Finnish...the talented Miss Tsumugi Kotobuki."

Tsumugi took the microphone. "Hello, you guys, my name is Tsumugi Kotobuki. It's a pleasure meeting you all. Thank you so much for coming down and listening to our performance."

One student in the Mugi Fan Club started a chant. "One, two..."

"MUGI!" they all shouted.

"Thank you so very much!" Mugi exclaimed. "Being in a band is really fun, especially when the band is Hokago Tea Time! And I'm having so much fun right now! Can I get an Amen?"

"AMEN!" they all shouted, applauding.

"Yeeeeaaaahhh!"

"All right Mugi, ease up, ease up," Ui said, clearing her throat. "By the way, she makes the tea and cakes that are served at our meetings every friggin' afternoon, so if you want to come on up to have cake and tea with us, better do it while we're still here. And this is served to the very wealthy in the country, by the way."

"I want some too!" one student screamed, frustrated.

"Mugi...they're taking orders..." So snide, that Ui.

"As she said," Mugi added, "you can come to our clubroom any time and have your fill. We know you want some, and we'll be ready." The crowd roared in approval.

"I'm hungry, dammit!" hollered a Boys Campus student in the crowd. "Where's the Pocky!"

"We'll have one of my classmates spot you a box after the show," Ui responded. "Our turtle mascot, Ton-chan, is also in the music room upstairs, so go ahead and say hi. He has the nose of a pig, that's why he's a pig-nosed turtle. Right, Azunyan?" she asked Azusa.

"Um, yeah."

"This is our second guitarist, by the way. She's Miss Azusa Nakano, and will be our club president next year. I call her Azunyan because she looks good with cat ears on. Azusa, say something."

She clutched Muttan as if it were a dakimakura. Or a blanket. "Okay. Um, my name is Azusa Nakano, I am the secondary guitarist, and will be the lead guitarist for the club next Spring. I hope to do well in my new role as the leader of the club, and I plan to do my best. Th...Thank you for your support, everybody."

"Azusa, we got your back!" Nodoka hollered.

"You go girl, Azunyan!" Yui shouted, waving her flag. "We'll fly the flag for you!"

"Azunyan is a very good guitarist," Ui said, "and she's so good that I learned some tips and tricks from her, too. Thanks, Azunyan." Applause as Azusa looked at her with shy eyes. "Anyway, if you freshmen and sophomores and even third-year junior high students are interested in joining the club, look for a certain girl in twintails and a red tie next April and inquire. Don't forget, you guys. Next up...our current club president, your drumming Juliet, Miss Ritsu Tainaka."

She took the microphone. "Hello everybody, I'm Ritsu Tainaka, and I want to thank each and every one of your for coming out to our concert today. We really appreciate your support of our efforts.

"Who loves ya, Ricchan!" Keiko hollered.

"Don't be so nervous, sugar!" Nobuyo said in her encouragement.

"Let's move on to the next song," Ritsu said, going back to the set.

"Wait, wait, wait, Ricchan," Ui said. "No need to rush, darling; you're forgetting yours truly here. Before we move on to the next song, I would like to introduce myself. I'm Miss Ui Hirasawa, the lead guitarist of this wonderful band, this sisterhood of rock you all know as Hokago Tea Time."

"All right, onee-chan!" Yui said to the heavens, captive as ever. "Preach, onee-chan, preach!"

"She is the epitome of perfection," Ritsu said. "She knows how to cook, is a wonderful older sister, is obviously good as a tree, and is a quick learner at playing her instrument, Gitah. Oh yeah, and she is one of the best students in our class and won the School Marathon weeks earlier. In world record time: 14 minutes flat."

"Whoa," they all said.

"She always gives it everything she's got," Tsumugi said, "and is loyal, devoted, and I think she is the hardest-working member of our band."

"The vibe she brings to our meetings, our classes, our practices...everywhere we go," Mio said, "we feed off of her energy. Ritsu may be our president, but Ui is our driving force. She makes us happy to be alive."

"Of all the sempai I am standing with here today," Azusa said, "Ui-sempai only the one I can trust the most...she also the one I...like...the most."

"Oooops, Ui-chan's already taken," one audience member from the Boys Campus said.

"Well at least Mio's still available," said another.

"She's mine!" responded a third in the back.

"No, she's mine!"

"No, she's mine!"

"I got shotgun on Mugi's cakes!" replied a fourth.

"I'll take Ricchan and her shiny forehead any old day!" hollered a fifth. They argued for the longest time until a student usher had to calm them down. The mention of "shiny forehead" sent chills down Ritsu's spine.

"Thank you very much, you guys," Ui said.

"All right, you can start the next song," Ritsu said to her.

Yui raised her flag on high and waved it. "Onee-chan, I'm over here!"

"There's my younger sister everybody, Miss Yui Hirasawa. Wave that flag, Yui, you're on TV!"

And she did before glomping Nodoka. "I love onee-chan."

"We know, we know."

"Ui!" Nobuyo called out.

"Hokago Tea Time!" Ushio, Keiko and Keiko Sano responded in chorus.

"Hokago Tea Time!" Haruko Chikada said.

"HTT! HTT! HTT! HTT!" the crowd chanted.

Ui soaked it all up. She nodded to the others with a thumbs up. They nodded in response. "Due to time constraints, this will be our final song."

"No!" a freshman said, the others echoing their disbelief.

"We want more!" exclaimed another.

"You can blame the people who set this up for giving us only a half an hour instead of an hour."

"Hokago Tea Time, our Holy Sisterhood of Rock, pray for us!" shouted a freshman from the Boys Campus. The band got a laugh out of that one.

"Thanks a lot for the shirts, Miss Sawako!"

"Any time, any time," she replied, nodding.

"Jun-chan, thanks a lot for your hard work in helping us each and every day."

"Yui! Nodoka-chan! Thanks!"

"All right," Nodoka said.

Yui was in tears. "Onee-chan...my Savior."

"And to 3-2, we love you! Great work!"

"We got your back, Ui!" Nobuyo said.

"No one at this school will ever take it to the hilt quite like you guys!" said Ushio.

"That's what she said," replied Keiko Iida.

Ui went on. "And also, thank you Ton-chan, and our clubroom! And to my sword and shield, Gitah, thank you. And you guys, thanks a lot! This song was written by my sister Yui and dedicated to me. But today, we dedicate it to all of you, and the millions watching in Japan, Korea and all over the world. And I mean YOU with a capital 'U'! This song is called 'U&I'. Let's do this HTT...for Sakuragaoka, and the world!" She turned to Ritsu. "Take it, Ricchan!"

The count-off. "1, 2, 3, 4!" And another of the band's staples made its debut to the masses.

* * *

_"When U're not around I can't do anything._

_I want to eat Ur food._

_When U come back,_

_I'll cling to U with a super smile._

_When U're not around I can't apologize._

_I want to hear Ur voice._

_Being able to see Ur smile is all I need._

_U always gave me courage just by being by my side._

_I want to be together forever._

_I want to tell U these feelings._

_Whether rain or shine,_

_U stayed by my side._

_If I close my eyes I see Ur radiant smile._

_When U're not around I don't understand anything._

_Where's the sugar and soy sauce?_

_When U come back,_

_I thought I'd surprise U and yet…_

_Unconsciously I act spoiled towards U,_

_Since U're too kind._

_I receive so much from U without being able to give back._

_Obviously I thought about how U stayed by my side._

_I thought that such days,_

_Would continue forever and ever._

_I'm sorry; I've only just realized it now._

_It's something that's not so obvious._

_First I'll start by telling U,_

_"Thanks."_

_I wonder has it reached Ur heart? I don't have any confidence right now but,_

_Don't laugh and just listen,_

_Because I put my thoughts into a song._

_I want to place all my "Thanks"_

_Into a song and send it to U._

_I will never ever forget these feelings._

_My thoughts, reach!"_

* * *

As Ui took one final jump towards the sky to finish the piece, the fireworks went up outside the auditorium in masses, and a flurry of cherry blossom petals fluttered down all over the campus. Inside the halls of the Sakuragaoka Girls Campus Auditorium, there was a standing ovation, and flags were flying in the air, t-shirts were waved around, and the roars of Hokago Tea Time's captive faithful were secure. Backstage, the Drama Club realized the bar had been lifted too high for them to exceed, but at least they would give it their best shot.

Ui Hirasawa, Mio Akiyama, Ritsu Tainaka, Tsumugi Kotobuki and Azusa Nakano took a collective bow and waved to the masses. Tears of joy and elation were mixed with sweat and smiles, the result of all the effort and hard work the club put in for the past several months. Cherry blossom petals fell from the rafters and on to the stage and the seats as the fans continued to chant their initials, "HTT! HTT! HTT! HTT!"

As the band brought the instruments back upstairs, a long queue—stretching from the music room, down the stairs, across the first floor, the quadrangle and three city blocks—lined up for autographs of the band. From shikishi boards, to flags, to the T-shirts...even Christmas & valentine's Day cards were signed by the band. And this was going on for a full hour. It was beyond the ordinary. The band had to do this after they were interviewed by NHK and the other news organizations on their performance, which literally tore the roof apart.

A number of autographed shirts were even auctioned off on eBay. Most, however, were kept as family mementos. It would simply be criminal for anybody to put even a semblance of a price on a memory as priceless as Hokago Tea Time's concert, held on that Sunday afternoon in October 2010.

But the message was made loud and clear. Hokago Tea Time, the Sisterhood of Rock from Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus had arrived. And the interesting thing for the girls was that, after the exposure they received on national television and online...they were only getting started.

* * *

"Rika Ichizawa here at the School Festival, and it is a long line of patrons waiting to get their autographs from the women of the hour: the light music club," she said on camera. "The concert has just concluded, and we want to get reaction from people who were at the show. First, what's your name?"

"Konata Izumi, from Saitama Prefecture."

"How did you like the show?"

"They were so AWESOME! I mean, I loved the way Ui-chan was messing around on stage while getting the crowd fired up. They know how to play. I hope to see one of their shows again."

"Nice. And who might you be, you with the purple twin tails?"

"Kagami Hiiragi, Konata's lovely significant other. Right."

'Oh yeah, everybody knows, Kagamin," Konata said with a pout.

"Kagami, what did you think about the show?"

"It was good. They are a very energetic group of players, and I believe that as recording artists, they will do just fine."

"Good to hear. We have another one lining up with us, what might your name be?"

"I am Fuuko Ibuki."

"What did you think of the concert?"

"Oh. Fuuko thinks it was amazing. Fuuko says that Hokago Tea Time is Japan's hottest girl band and should be signed to a record contract. Oh, and Fuuko believes that Hokago Tea Time makes Green Day look like a bunch of over-the-hill altar boys from San Francisco."

"Strong statements indeed. Here's another one; what's your name?"

"Mafuyu Shiina, from Sapporo."

"You came all the way from there, huh?"

"Me, onee-chan, Chizuru-san, Kurimu-san and Ken-kun all came here via first-class flight yesterday."

"What did you guys think of the show?"

"I like 'Fuwa Fuwa Time.' It's very catchy. Onee-chan liked 'U&I'. Ken-kun was taking too many pictures of the girls, though."

"Interesting. Here's another person in line. Your name?"

"Nagi Sanzen'in, from Nerima."

"Your thoughts on the concert?"

"I think Azusa shined in this one. But the band performed really well, too. It was a fun concert, though. I really wish they weren't so clumsy, though."

"And your name?"

"Hayate Ayasaki."

"Thoughts?"

"Well, I thought it was an amazing show. These girls are good."

"Hayate," Nagi said to Hayate.

"What, Milady?"

"I would like to buy a Fender Mustang. With...wi-with a cherry-red motif. Like...Azusa's."

"We'll get you one on our way back to the mansion."

"The resonance of this band is proving really strong," Rika said. "And who might you be?"

"Koromo Amae."

"Ah, you're one of the famous young mahjong players. What do you think of this performance?"

"It was wonderful. I want the band to sign my shikishi board I have here."

"Good luck. And you name?"

"Nodoka Haramura. An acquaintance of Koromo."

"What do you think of the show?"

"They are very confident in what they can do. I don't believe they disappointed in their efforts. They are the best the school have to offer."

"Another one we have here with us. Your name?"

"Shana."

"Oh, you're that flame haze girl!"

"That's me. At your service."

"What did you think of the show?"

"Pretty good. I thought Ritsu's drumming was fantastic, Mugi played those keys like her life depended on it, Mio boomed her bass with desire, and Azusa and Yui delivered in typical fashion. Overall a complete effort by the band. I will forever be one of their fans."

"One more, and it's a big one, the Mio Fan Club has lined up at the head of the line. Here is one of the members. Your name?"

"Youko Sasaki, Class 3-2."

"Oh, so you were in the play?"

"Just as an extra."

"What did you think of the show?"

"Mio-chan was a goddess on the stage! She can be my Mistress anytime! I have a few friends who want to sing a little song for her. Ready?"

"Yeah!" they all cried.

"One, two, three...hey soul sister, hey there mister mister on the radio, stereo, I love you, Akiyama Mio! Hey soul sister, I don't want to miss a single thing you dooooo...tonight, hey-ey, hey-ey-ey-ey-ey, hey-ey-ey-ey-ey, tonight, hey-ey, hey-ey-ey-ey-ey, hey-ey-ey-ey-ey, tonight!"

Rika got a laugh out of this. "Well, that pretty much sums of the atmosphere here at the Girls Campus here at Sakuragaoka High School. A successful School Festival, a brilliant headline act thrust into the limelight, and memories fans young and old will treasure. That wraps it up here, back to you, Hiroki..."

* * *

After the autograph session, Azusa, Tsumugi, Yui, Ritsu and Mio sat against the wall and internalize, in the afternoon daylight, the fame and accolades they would receive from the exposure they had. As Ritsu drums and Mugi's keyboard were being hauled in to the room, a track from AC/DC's "T.N.T." album was playing in the background.

* * *

_"Ridin' down the highway_

_Goin' to a show_

_Stop in all the by-ways_

_Playin' rock 'n' roll_

_Gettin' robbed_

_Gettin' stoned_

_Gettin' beat up_

_Broken boned_

_Gettin' had_

_Gettin' took_

_I tell you folks_

_It's harder than it looks_

_It's a long way to the top_

_If you wanna rock 'n' roll_

_It's a long way to the top_

_If you wanna rock 'n' roll_

_If you think it's easy doin' one night stands_

_Try playin' in a rock roll band_

_It's a long way to the top_

_If you wanna rock 'n' roll_

_Hotel, motel_

_Make you wanna cry_

_Lady do the hard sell_

_Know the reason why_

_Gettin' old_

_Gettin' grey_

_Gettin' ripped off_

_Under-paid_

_Gettin' sold_

_Second hand_

_That's how it goes_

_Playin' in a band_

_It's a long way to the top_

_If you wanna rock 'n' roll_

_It's a long way to the top_

_If you wanna rock 'n' roll_

_If you wanna be a star of stage and screen_

_Look out it's rough and mean_

_It's a long way to the top_

_If you wanna rock 'n' roll_

_It's a long way to the top_

_If you wanna rock 'n' roll_

_It's a long way to the top_

_If you wanna rock 'n' roll_

_It's a long way to the top_

_If you wanna rock 'n' roll_

_Well, it's a long way_

_It's a long way, (so they tell me)_

_It's a long way, such a long way..."_

* * *

"Damn," Ui said to the others afterwards. "We did it. We fucking did it. On national television. And the web."

"My arms are so tired," Ritsu said. "Not so much from the drumming, but from the signing we had to do. Fuck, I could only do 80. How many did you do, Mio?"

"Only 100," she replied softly. "Mugi, how about you?"

"I was able to sign 110 before I decided to call it a session. Azusa?"

"Just 90. Ui-sempai, I bet you signed a lot."

"Not really; just 200."

"JUST 200?" Ritsu exclaimed in wonderment, albeit in a hushed tone. "Son of a bitch. We went through a demanding concert on the coattails of a play, and you have the energy to sign 200 items in the space of an hour! Bastard, do you even know what the word tired means?"

"I know what 'reaching my limits' means, but not as you say it."

"What does that have to...oh, never mind."

"Anyway, as I was saying earlier," said Ui, "we brought the house down."

Mio was still in a state of disbelief. By the this point, the news crews were still interviewing fans and students. "And everything went by so fast."

Tsumugi was also in a daze. "It's just the weirdest feeling in the world. I don't even remember if I played my notes right or not. We must have hit our stride."

"The fact that sold out 5,000 T-shirts with our name on it blew me away before this whole ordeal began," said Ritsu. "I also heard that we turned in the biggest profit of all the clubs with the shirts we sold. Guys, we got ourselves a lot of money coming our way, and it's all going to the club's budget. It's gonna be big next spring. We just need new people to take over for us, but the financial infrastructure is there."

Ui nodded. "Hmph."

"I agree with Ritsu-sempai," Azusa said. "It's all a blur. It's either one of two things. 1. We just went through a set of three songs for the fans, got interviewed by NHK, tired our arms out by signing autographs, and then we sleep in for an hour of the afterglow before talking again. Or 2. I just don't remember what the fuck happened at all. Goddamn."

Ui was still lost in thought as she looked towards the whiteboard, which had the graffiti of congratulatory messages and illustrations scribbled by well-wishers from the autograph session. The afternoon sunlight gleamed on her auburn locks and disheveled bangs. She had become a rocker. They all had.

For Ui, she saw it as a bit of a rite of passage. This was the first time that they had played as one unit, and delivered their now-polished trademark sound. Ui recognized their sound as that of a power pop mentality, the type of song that could be played anywhere—from buses, to trains, to boats and planes—wherever anyone went, their music would uplift their spirits and refresh their souls. "If we can be together for a few more years," she thought, "I don't see why we can't be at Budokan."

Now she spoke, her face beaming. "In any case, this was fun while it lasted. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!"

"The best concert we ever had as a band, by far," Mio added.

Ritsu agreed. "And we were really tight, too."

"Totally, Ricchan," Ui replied. "Totally."

"I bet your Gitah was feeling it, too."

"He sure was! It was a little bit of 'How Do You Like Me Now!' Something like that."

"A Toby Keith reference?"

"Don't forget your good friend Elizabeth, Mio-chan; she was booming! And Muttan as well, Azunyan! We were, like, flying on all cylinders!"

"Elizabeth!" Mio wailed in delight, clutching her bass happily.

"Good old Muttan did the job again today," Azusa said to the others, clutching her Mustang lovingly with a smile.

"So that is your guitar's name?" Ritsu asked her.

"I just told you that, Ricchan," Ui replied.

"Oh yeah, you did."

"It's a Fender Mustang, so it's named 'Muttan.'"

"I see." Tsumugi laughed.

"All right guys, what should we do next?" Ui asked the team. "This is the band's official afterparty, and everything is on everyone! Your call, girls."

"You got any cake, Mugi-sempai?" Azusa asked Tsumugi. "I want a slice!"

"The club budget has a surplus, as always," Ritsu said. "Well, now it's bigger after the revenue that will come in from the shirts, the flags, the pins and all that stuff."

"Ricchan," said Mugi, "I made a special order from Paradiso, and they shipped it to the co-op for storage. I can pick it up downstairs, because they reserved it for us."

"Well done, that Tsumugi Kotobuki," Ui said to the crew. "Let's eat that while we decide what to do next."

"In several weeks, we got the Christmas party up next," Mio said wistfully, looking towards the ceiling with anticipation. "Boy, that will be something."

"And New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day the week after," Tsumugi said, hands clasped together. "Bodacious!"

The spark in Azusa's eyes was clear. "Guys, we have to visit a shrine for New Year's! We must, we must, we must!"

"And then we have the Freshmen Welcome concert, too," Mio replied.

"Hey ladies, do you all want to do another all-nighter on campus?" Ritsu asked the others, the spark in her eyes never flickering.

Ui agreed with the proposal. "We have to invite Miss Sawako in next time."

Azusa was all in. "Great idea!"

"In the summer, we got the air conditioner," Ritsu said in her reflections.

"As well as a camping trip," Mugi added.

Ui's level of anticipation skyrocketed. "I can't wait for the rest of the year to unfold before our very eyes. And after that...um, after that...I think it's graduation, right? And the world is broad and wide."

"You hit the nail right on the head," Ritsu said with a laugh. She began to shed a tear.

Ui began to shed tears as well. "If we can be together...after we all graduate...only the Lord knows how far we will go...I can't...I can't even..." Mio, now in tears, was also coming to terms with the news that this was their final concert. So did Mugi and Azusa.

"You can't even begin to imagine, huh? After coming to terms with everything that's happened, you can't even begin to imagine how far we will go."

"No, I just can't. We're gonna go a long way. It is a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll, you know. And I can't believe that this...is it," she whispered.

"I don't want this to end anymore!" a sobbing Mugi screamed in a fit of bitter rage, tears streaming down her face. "It's not over! It's not fucking over! I won't believe it! Never! Goddamnit, it's not fucking over! Arrgh!"

"Mugi-sempai, it's all right, it's all right," Azusa said, giving her a hug of consolation. "Let it out. All things have to come to an end, you know. And Ui-sempai, let it go. It's over. Don't waste your tears."

"How could I not, Azunyan?" she asked. "Look where we are right now! It's a bit overwhelming for us to come to terms with what we have accomplished, so you know we can't help it!"

"But still..."

"Mio, you all right?" Ritsu asked her ladyfriend, who was perhaps the most inconsolable of all. "Lycopene!" Useless, useless.

Mio chuckled a little. "You're crying as well, Ritsu."

"I guess I am, huh?" she said, a little bit startled. But in the end, Ritsu had to be honest with herself: this was their curtain call. Mio and Ritsu both got a laugh out of it.

"Here, Mugi-sempai," Azusa said, handing her a handkerchief.

She was still sobbing, doing her best to let it all out. "Azusa-chan...Azusa-chan, thank you!"

"Okay, okay. There, there, let it go, let it go. It will be all right."

It was a bittersweet sight to see those girls internalize the reality that came to them. But it was what it was.

Mio turned to the others. "We were awesome, right? We really were awesome, right? Tell me we were!"

"Yeah!" Tsumugi shouted through her tears. "We were really, really awesome!" Her tears of sadness transformed into tears of joy.

Azusa was impressive in that she showed the true leadership skills of a president-to-be. "Guys, it has been an honor for me to play with all of you."

"Group hug, everyone!" Ui said, embracing the others. "Let it all out!"

"I wouldn't miss this for anything!" Ritsu cried.

"No, you wouldn't!" Mio hollered back. "I wouldn't either!"

"I give my thanks to you, my Lord!" Mugi wailed.

"Thanks for everything, you guys," Azusa said.

"Lycopene!" Ritsu said for the heck of it.

They laughed, and they cried as they embraced each other. And as if by chance, they fell into a power nap for another hour, holding each other's hands in symbolic solidarity.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen," said the voice over the PA, "thank you for attending the 2010 Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus School Festival. We close our musical program on the sound system with the last song Hokago Tea Time played for you this afternoon, called 'U&I.' Have a wonderful weekend, and please drive home safely. Good night, everybody."

The time: 4:05 p.m. Japan Standard Time as a flock of birds flew in the distance towards Yokohama.

* * *

"Hey, Miss Sawako," Jun said to her as they went upstairs, "we surprised them by having everyone wear the shirt. Even the people outside the auditorium and the people watching in all the building were wearing it. I think I also saw some autographed versions of the shirts, too."

"Good move, I think. And to sell out the entire supply was pretty impressive. Operation T-Shirt Surprise is Mission Accomplished, Jun Suzuki."

"Roger that, Miss Sawako, over and out." They both laughed.

"And this will... send me through into the air, with the band saying my name: Sawako! Sawako! Sawako! Like that."

"I don't know about that, but I will say that this was epic."

Miss Sawako opened the door wide. "Hey ladies, good job!" Silence. "Huh?" They were sleeping.

Ton-chan looked on as if to say, "Miss Sawako, these girls are tired, and they were running on little sleep to begin with."

Miss Sawako and Jun went to Ui, who was snoring.

"Such a happy smile," said Jun. The sight of them holding each other's hands caused Sawako to shed a tear a well, as she remembered doing something similar with Death Devil. "God bless these girls."

So symbolic, so pure, and so moving. Truly, this band known as Hokago Tea Time was a Sisterhood of Rock.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 20**

Lyric translations by Honya of Lyrical Spark.

**A/N:** This chapter was completed on Sawako Yamanaka's birthday, January 31, 2011, and is dedicated to fans of the best teacher in the show. Look forward to the next one!


	21. Gone Shootin'

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 21:**

**Gone Shootin'**

* * *

Well! That was all a blur. And after the School Festival concluded, there was nothing but endless talk about the Hokago Tea Time concert, the songs, the energy shared all over the campus, and even the little power nap coming on the heels of bittersweet tears mixed with laughter and relief.

The place known to the locals as Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus was buzzing with talk about the light music club. They were famous. Even the most tenured of instructors wanted their autographs as news spread of their television appearance at the school festival.

However, the members were, first and foremost, students just like the rest of the body. And the importance of acing those end-of-year examinations could not be any more stressed. Most of all, autumn was beginning to wind down, making way for the bitter cold of winter.

Ui Hirasawa, back in her iconic uniform was busy on her laptop, writing on her personal blog about some recent news going on about town, as well as on her final thoughts on the school festival. Her body was still sore from all the playing and autograph-signing she did, but it wasn't as bad as before.

"And if you were to ask me that question," said Ui, talking as she typed, "I would say to you, 'yeah, we do have a future playing power pop as a band. We're confident we can improve on what we do. But we are students first, and we have a hectic load on our way. All we need is some divine intervention, and a load full of elbow grease. Something." She thought for a little bit before closing out the entry in typical fashion. "Fashionistas send help. Yours, Ui Hirasawa."

Closing down her laptop and placing it in her bag, Ui took out a magazine that talked about the new hairstyles that were all the rage, as well as some wigs that were en vogue. After glancing at it for about a few minutes, she put it away and decided to prim her long locks a little, creating different looks and expressions by the minute. The serious lolita. The sporty confidante. And the classic. She even donned her yellow ribbon for a bit, just for the heck of it.

Here, Ui did a little monologue with herself. "So what I am hearing, dear conscience of mine, is that to customize your hair with these things people call alternative hairstyle, is to have a deeper appreciation of this thing society calls individuality. Look, I bring you the natural look as my first example of the many possibilities before you. Splendid, you say? Very well, moving right along to the next style: bangs parted aside, save for one, thus allowing you to look like either John Lennon or your esteemed instructor. Content with that? On to the next style I will provide you on your road to self-actualization: bangs slicked back to the right, giving a more adult look to your approach of the ways of the world. With your low eyes and indifferent frown, you could pass for one of the affluent of France and people will not notice. It's beauty at a low profile. One of my favorite hairdos. You like it? I can see it in that smile of yours. You know, Ui Hirasawa, you are coming of age, and don't you know it! Somewhere in Germany, a certain pair of parents are satisfied with the progress of their eldest daughter's...academic pursuits. So I've heard. Here is another style: your locks in curls, making you look like Scarlett O'Hara, one of my favorite movie heroines. Content? I knew you were, sunshine. Ah, the sun is coming out over the Tokyo skies; a bit cold, but typical of the morning dew. Oh don't wink at me just yet, sugar bunny, you've got a whole lot to forward to! Here's another style: the hippie, with a peace symbol. To make love and not war is a pitch and precept you prioritize. Yes, yes I know it seems cliché what I am saying...but it's true. We must give peace a chance. Hahah! It's a bit too much for you! C'est trop, c'est trop! Have you ever been to the ocean! You have? Many times, I see. I know this one person from the beach they call the Squid Girl. She is known for her catch phrase Degeso. Is that the new 'Desu'? Or is it a flash in the pan. Ah, you take no preferences, it's cute either way. Yes, yes, I know; you are nodding your head as I say this to you. "

"They're getting longer," she thought after finishing her soliloquy to her own self-conscience. "My bangs. I think I'm getting a bit hotter by the minute. Can't let this get to my head, though." Satisfied with her look, Ui finally donned the clips, positioning them two centimeters apart on the right side of her bangs.

Yui walked in. "Hey onee-chan! What is my superstar sister doing?"

"Oh, what's up Yui. I'm just fixing my hair a bit before we take off for the campus."

"Oooh. Is that so? You know onee-chan, we seem to look like twins, even though you're older than me."

"I know, right?" They got a laugh out of it. "It must be a sister thing."

"That's because you're stealing my hairdo, onee-chan!"

"Oh, but it's because I like it."

"Well, I guess it can't be helped. Do you think I should change my hairdo and tie my hair back?"

"No, no, no, you're fine, you're fine."

"Ehhhhh? You think so? All right, then. Because, you know, I wasn't so sure if I should go ahead and do a ponytail. I like going with what I like best."

"Me too. Shall we go off then, Yui?"

"Yes, let's, onee-chan! By the way, who were you talking to?"

"My own self-conscience. No, actually, it was talking to me."

"An out-of-body experience?"

"Oh shush! Far from it."

As Ui left the house with her sister, she played the seventh track from AC/DC's fifth album.

* * *

_"Feel the pressure rise_

_Hear the whistle blow_

_Found a ticket of her own accord_

_Yeah to I don't know_

_Packed her heart in her travelling bag_

_And never said bye bye_

_Something missing in the neighborhood_

_All the cryin' eyes_

_I stirred my coffee with the same spoon_

_To her favorite tune_

_Gone shootin'_

_My baby's gone shootin'_

_Wrap herself around_

_Like a second skin_

_Backed her favorite nag_

_But she could never win_

_I took her number in another town_

_She took another pill_

_She was 'runnin' in' on overdrive_

_A victim of overkill_

_She never made it past the bedroom door_

_What was she aiming for?_

_Gone shootin'_

_She's gone, gone gone gone_

_(solo)_

_Gone shootin'_

_My baby's gone shootin'_

_Ow ! Lookout !_

_(Gone Shootin')_

_Aaah! my baby's gotta gun_

_(Gone Shootin)_

_hey look out, look out, look out, look out!_

_(Gone shootin)_

_Ahh She's shootin everyone!_

_(Gone shootin)_

_Ah She's sure is loaded_

_She's gone, she's gone, she's gone, she's gone_

_Gone shootin_

_I used to love her so."_

* * *

The autumn leaves were coming down the hallowed grounds of Sakuragaoka High School Girls' Campus. Another flock of bluebirds soared in a V formation as part of their morning flight to the countryside. It was November, and the push for fame and glory came down to the closing months of the year. At the Boys Campus, the football and boys soccer teams were roughhousing opponents left and right. They would go on to win the prefectural crowns, with the football team going on to win the Christmas Bowl.

As for the students of the Girls Campus, the attention turned to more pressing issues, some that would test the mettle of its student body. Ui, Mio Akiyama, Ritsu Tainaka, Tsumugi Kotobuki and Azusa Nakano can't say they didn't see this one coming, because they did.

"Yui, morning," Azusa Nakano said to her as they both changed into their school shoes.

"Oh, morning, Azunyan. How are you?"

"Fine as always. You know, I had this one weird dream."

"Oh? What was it?"

"Japan won the Asian Cup. For a fourth time."

"Ehhhhh? Whoa, that's amazing!"

"Yeah. I'm not kidding. And the weirdest thing was that the game winning goal was scored by an ethnic Korean in extra time, and the opponent was Australia."

"You've got some of the craziest dreams, Azunyan."

"I can't help it, you know. Remember when I had my episode of dreams in the summer, when I had my tan and all? It's happening again."

"Ahhh. By the way, what happened to your hair, Azunyan? It looks...better."

"I decided to do something different."

Yui's breathing was hitched as she blushed. "Azunyan. You look good when you have your hair down."

"I forgot to tie it up, was what I intended to say. You know me, I tend to space out at times," she giggled.

"Is that so?" Yui asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Mmm-hmmm."

"You need to space out more often. When you have long hair, you look sexier."

Azusa blushed wildly. "It's...it's not like I'm trying to do this on purpose!"

Yui silenced her for a bit by giving her a deep kiss, her tongue thrust inside her like a lance smashing a brick wall. Her fingers caressed the curves of her petite figure as if it were an untainted dakimakura, the hands swaying lovingly on such feminine flesh. "I mean it, Azunyan."

"So sweet," Azusa thought, her lips stained with the richness of Yui's kiss. "I'm all right, Yui. And your kiss is so sweet."

Yui placed a finger to her lips, winking seductively. "You shouldn't be saying that out loud. I'm only the sister of your lover, you know. A-zu-nyan."

"Right, right."

"Keep it on the down low. Nobody has to know. Oh, and don't forget to change into the school shoes, either."

"Oh yeah," Azusa said with a giggle, changing them after realizing she held the pair in her hand. She was floating in her own state of mind, Azusa was.

* * *

"I changed my mind," Yui said after a while as the two of them returned to Class 2-1. "Let me fix you. Azunyan looks better with her hair in twin tails."

"Okay."

Taking a couple of ties, Yui tied Azusa's hair back in her signature bunches. "And that looks better. Now Azunyan looks like Azunyan."

"It doesn't hurt me being me," she said, echoing the sentiments for the classic style while looking at herself in the mirror. Outside, a group of sophomores were doing the lambada in the hall. In the background, Big Star's "September Gurls" was playing.

Yui took a brush and straightened Azusa's long twin tails. She admired the silky sheen of it, the naturalness, and the scent of strawberries and cream that came from the shampoo and body wash she used in the morning. "You smell delicious, Azunyan."

"Please don't eat me," she deadpanned.

"I wouldn't do that to you, honey. I'll just..." A playful flick of the tongue graced Azusa's clean face. "...get a taste, that's all."

As she felt the wet spot, Azusa felt uneasy thinking about Yui's advances. Were they that intentional? Or was she just losing her mind at trying to think they were. Ui treated her like a lover. Yui treated her like a plaything and a friend. There was a difference.

"I wanted to take things a bit easier now that the school festival is in our rear view mirror."

"Ohhh, letting your hair down. Azunyan, it's all right if you have to change the pace a little before it's back to business again for you, onee-chan and the others. I like to say, 'Oh, here's Master Ui with a change of pace.' And they can't turn me loose."

"Huh?"

"You get what I'm saying?"

Azusa had to play along. "Yes, I do."

"But you need to change your hairstyle every now and then. Give everyone a different impression of you. I can see, hey, here's Azunyan with the drill hair!"

"Don't think that's going to happen."

"Awwww." Now it was time for a change of pace. "Hey Azunyan, I had this weird dream last night."

"What was it?"

"There was this giant Nutella monster, which was a big-ass sized jar of Nutella from Osaka, wreaking havoc. And once it got in front of me, it started dancing to Kohmi Hirose's 'Promise.'"

"You mean the 'Get Down' thing right? That is so last decade, Yui."

"Ehhhh, but it's true. It was dancing funny and stuff. Hey Azunyan, do you think I should change my hairstyle?"

"If you want, I'm not stopping you. Why do you ask?"

Yui tied her hair back with a yellow ribbon. In the background, the radio was playing "Go All The Way" by The Raspberries, with a few students joining in song. "Ta-da! A-zu-nyan!"

"What the hell! I'm getting some pretty perverted flashbacks!" Yui embraced Azusa, nibbling at her ears lustily. "Why are you going with Ui-sempai's old hairstyle?"

"I think this also looks good on me," she replied with a giggle, playing with Azusa's hair. "Besides, sweetie, I've always wanted to hug you looking like this."

"But it...it...it feels like I'm being hugged by a clone with a red tie! So perverted!"

"Hey you guys," Nodoka said, walking in. "What are you all up to?"

"Oh, Nodoka-chan!"

"Hold the phone. Ui-sempai, why are you here? Shouldn't you be upstairs with the others? And you're wearing the wrong tie; it's supposed to be blue."

"No, it's me, Nodoka-chan."

"Yui? Oh, the joke's on me, then." She looked down at her legs. "The tights gave it away. Damn, the joke's on me!"

"We were talking about hairstyles and Nutella jars." Azusa's face expressed sheer contempt and unforgivable condemnation.

"That hairstyle...just doesn't fit you, Yui. Though I will say it looks good on you...it just doesn't fit you."

"Thanks."

"You're thanking me for that? I know you've gone off the deep end many times we've been on this Earth, Yui, but this is ridiculous."

Yui undid the ribbon and showed it to the two of them. "Isn't that Ui-sempai's ribbon?" Azusa asked.

"Yeah, and I wanted to try it out," she replied. "I've been wearing this thing all morning. Didn't notice, honey bunny?"

Azusa admitted that she was still drinking in her band's recent success. "I was spacing out again."

Nodoka still continued to wonder. "But why the heck are you wearing it?"

"I suppose I forgot to take them off, and that's why I'm wearing them."

"You can't even do a decent cover-up right," Nodoka deadpanned.

"Ehhhh? How mean of you, Nodoka-chan!"

Yui tied her hair back with the ribbon. "Me and onee-chan were trying out different hairstyles, and I decided to go with this."

"Ahhh, I see what you did there," Azusa said. "By that token, Ui-sempai is wearing your clips. Wait, she's been doing it for a while, hasn't she?"

"She wanted me to try something different for a change."

"Sisters can be so mean," Azusa thought to herself.

"So here's the story, guys," Yui said, going on. "Onee-chan is trying to figure out what style is best for her. So I decided to wear this ribbon and model for her, because she doesn't want to go back to this hairstyle. Later on, they will be taking the individual photos for our yearbook, the Campanile."

"They are?" Azusa asked her.

"They sure are, Azunyan."

"Whoa." Now Azusa was pondering if she should let her hair down in its natural state, keep her signature bunches, or go with a different look. Either one was a winner, but only one route could be chosen.

Back at 3-2, Ui held her hair back in twin braids, bored like a lazy lioness. "Hey Ui," Jun Suzuki asked her. "You all right?"

"I am different from my usual bubbly self. I have entered my own personal slump, dearest Jun," Ui said monotonously. "I do not know what hairdo to choose for the Campanile."

"You mean the yearbook, right?"

"Yes, I mean the yearbook. This sucks. To high heaven."

"Poor you. Where are your clips?"

"I wanted to try one without my clips, so I went for Azunyan's hairdo, bunches."

"Twin tails?" Man, you definitely are in a slump!"

"Jun, how could you rub salt in these virgin wounds of mine, you heartless fiend!"

"Spare me the Shakespeare, sister of rock. That was a so few week ago, and to top it all off, there's no need for you to be dramatic." Ui looked at her with eyes that felt cruel betrayal. "Oh, you."

"To be shameless is to be heartless, and vice versa. I didn't want to keep a low profile and change my hairdo, but I had to because Yui borrowed my ribbon longer than I wanted."

"I thought you didn't wear your ribbon anymore."

"I wanted to go back to the old style but my heart was telling me something different. I am directionless, and this is why I am in a slump."

"So people can get into slumps from not knowing where to go," Jun said wistfully. "One route: the black hole of oblivion."

"I really wish Yui was done wearing my ribbon. This is just a drag."

"But you do look good in twin braids. You could pass for a brunette version of our Miologist Youko Sasaki."

"Think so? I never knew that. But here's the scoop: me and Yui were trying out all these different hairdos. I let Yui model with my ribbon. The mirror wasn't good enough, and so I asked her, stand back here, let me see how it looks. I studied the style from all these different angles, wondering about the aesthetical and social impacts of my own style implemented on my younger sister in the lab that was my bedroom."

"And then you got here, decided to tie your hair back in twin braids while your sister is messing about with your ribbon."

"It's pretty weird without my ribbon with me, even though I now don the clips. My ponytail was a frontrunner to be used for the yearbook, but that's not an option anymore. So, I have a question: Jun-chan, do you have something to tie my hair back?"

Jun took out a spare blue tie for the uniform. "I originally was going to use this in case I lost the one I am wearing right now, but I can let you have it if you want."

She handed her the tie. "The blue suit tie of our uniform. This might do."

"Actually, you can try this," Tsumugi said, walking in with a pink scrunchie while holding a similar-colored brush.

"Hey there, Mugi-chan. Ah, so Lady Kotobuki brings forth...the scrunchie. It's like bringing home the bacon, except the bacon is in the form of an inedible scrunchie."

"Way to speak the obvious, Princess Obvious," Jun said in a snarky tone.

"Do you want me to fix up your hair?" she asked Ui.

"Go for it, Milady. I am indebted to your awesomeness, love."

"All right." Tsumugi undid her twin braids, then proceeded to brush Ui's hair as Jun looked on with a sense of jealousy. To be helped cosmetically by someone so affluent was a luxury in this day and age.

"This feels so good," Ui said. She felt like she floating on a cloud. Help, they can't keep Ui Hirasawa off the ground! Mercy!

"Take a look at yourself," Jun said, produced a mirror for Ui to look at.

"I wonder if I should be a hairdresser as a side job," Tsumugi asked Ui.

"Why not? Although, you're wealthy enough to not work as one, but might as well give it a try. Do it part-time. Something like that."

"Cool. I will note that in my shortlist of things to do when I graduate: work as hairdresser in-between classes at Japan Women's University. I can pay for the tuition without going on a loan, too."

Ui smirked. "Of course you can. We would expect you to, anyway."

Of course, the thought of brushing Ui's beautifully-scented hair made Mugi want to brush it more. Eventually, she tied it back. "Your hair's not long enough for a ponytail. Will this be all right with you? I'm just gonna improvise."

"My mistake, I was thinking about Yui-chan. Yours is close enough. And...there." It was all tied back with the scrunchie. Ui felt like her old self again. Or did she?

"Gyaaaah! You decided to expose my forehead like Ricchan, huh? Actually, I now look like a younger version of Grandma Tomi. Granny, if you are listening in the back of your head right now, it's me. I now look like you."

"Whoops," Jun said. "Strike three, Kotobuki, you're out."

"Did I do it wrong?" Tsumugi asked. Yes, you did, Milady. Yes, you did.

Mio checked in. "Hey yo, what are you guys doing?" Mio asked. She blinked. "Ui? Did you take the wrong set of pills this morning?"

"I do tie my hair back, but not the way Mugi-chan did it. I don't expose my forehead like this."

"What the hell?" Ritsu exclaimed, checking in with the gang. "Ui, you punk, you're stealing my forehead-exposing, Lycopene-friendly style! It's treachery of the highest highs! Just show your forehead already, I don't care; it looks awesome!"

"Oh God, it's the inky-dinky peep show all over again," Jun said, shaking her head from side to side. "But your forehead looks good, too."

"No, no it doesn't! I don't want to be flicked on! The pain, the pain!" Ui wailed.

Jun went over and licked Ui's forehead playfully. "Lycopene," she whispered in her ear.

Unsurprisingly, as Ui's shrieks pierced the walls of the room, Ritsu was up in arms. "You fucking bastard, thank you very much for stealing one of my precious catchphrases!"

"Let me try something different," Mugi said, grabbing another scrunchie and tying Tsumugi's hair back in bunches. "This looks cute on you."

"You think so?" Ui asked.

"Oh yeah."

"Holy shit, now I have two of me!" Jun said, surprised. "Were me and Ui separated at birth? Hmmmm...Journalism Club, spin this story to the press."

Ui nodded as she perused herself in the mirror. "You're right, I do look like you."

Yui opened the door, back in her trademark clips. Azusa was trailing along. "Onee-chan! How are things?"

"I sure hope we weren't separated at birth because that would mean I have two sisters instead of one," Ui said to Jun as Ritsu grinned.

Mio walked to the door. "Hey, Yui-chan, what's up?"

"Go ahead and give this ribbon back to her," she replied.

Mio walked over to Ui. "Your ribbon."

"Oh?" Mio motioned to Ui and Azusa at the door. "Ah, thanks, Yui! All right! It is back. My ribbon, my strength, my pride." She undid her bunches, tied her hair back, and applied the clips to the right.

Ritsu stroked her chin. "Oh, combining yours and Yui's?"

"Old meets new. Thanks Yui!"

"Anytime, onee-chan!"

Azusa looked at Ui with a look of concern. Why was she trying to now look like Jun all of a sudden? It seems that the Hirasawa sisters were letting customization get to their heads a bit too much. She sighed and decided to let it go.

The day continued to progress as the autumn leaves began to descend down the pathways of the Girls Campus. Now the campus radio was playing some JPop from a decade ago. They were heavy on the Hikaru Utada and Ayumi Hamasaki. And Namie Amuro, too. True regional mainstays.

The hallways were empty as classes continued to go on, with lectures about various subjects relevant to the education of a free individual. Notes were being taken. Notes were being passed out. And questions were being asked by enthusiastic students that were committed to the final push awaiting them all. The teachers of the school were impressed by the work ethic of a majority of the students at both campuses, and the race to become class valedictorian and salutatorian got heated. A few underclassmen from the track team were running laps as part of their conditioning for the next meet that lay ahead in a few weeks' time. They would be touring Australia as part of a combined group of track and field athletes from the prefecture's senior high schools, and would compete against local high schools from Sydney and Melbourne at Stadium Australia in Sydney.

"This field is like a barren wasteland at times," Azusa said to Nodoka and Yui back at Class 2-1 after all the other students left.

"All the seniors on the sports teams called it a career, except for the American football team, who I think is still playing back at the Boys Campus," Yui replied.

"You think they'll win the Christmas Bowl?"

"I heard from some folks down there that they are very good. They're big, they're strong, and they eat opponents for lunch. The head coach there says that this might be the best American football team the school has ever produced."

"Damn, that's saying something, Yui," Nodoka whispered. "Jun-sempai told me that all the members on the Jazz Club have called it quits. They're grooming me to take over as student council president as we speak."

"Boy, the times, they are a-changing," Azusa said softly, watching the runners continue to condition themselves. "Wait a minute here. That means..."

"Huh? Something wrong, Azusa?"

"I'll meet you guys later. I'm gonna take my leave," she said, heading upstairs.

The four seniors on the light music club could not be retiring just yet, right? Even though the rule was the rule, they still had so much to do as a club. At least, that's how Azusa saw it. There was no way that the club would break apart in autumn. At least let this incarnation cross the finish line in March before there is change on the way in April, with her calling the shots!

Azusa had all these thoughts on her mind as she made the trek upstairs. First a walk, and now a frantic rush to the door. She needed to know: were the light music club's seniors—the friends she trusted the most—going to leave her to struggle in the cold like this? On top of that, the pictures for the Campanile were slated to be shot, and Azusa didn't want to miss the boat.

She opened the door wide, trying to catch her breath. Azusa was relieved that there was somebody inside. Somebody times four. Ui was giving Ritsu some cake, while Mugi was serving another batch of team for Mio and the incumbent club advisor, Miss Sawako Yamanaka. "You all right?" Mio asked her. "You don't have to run; we're not going to practice for a while."

"Are you okay, Azusa?" Ritsu asked.

"She seems a bit winded," Ui said to her.

Tsumugi agreed. "Oh my."

Azusa thought they had called it quits. She was stunned. "Why are you guys here?" she asked with a hiss.

"Hey," Ui said, now back to her usual clips without the ribbon. "You wanted to come here for some of Mugi-chan's sweet stuff, am I right, love?"

She turned away. "I am not you, okay?"

"Oh come on, sweetie. I know you want it."

"I know what up, guys," Ritsu said to the four of them. "Azusa. Honey. You thought that we called it quits and would not show our faces here at our stomping grounds we like to call the music room, eh?"

Bingo. Azusa took a big gulp as Ritsu hit the arrow on the bulls-eye. "Winner! 500 yen to Ms. Tainaka, here!" said Ui, handing her a 500-yen coin.

Ritsu flipped the coin in the air, then clutched it as it went on its downward motion. "Cool beans, sistah!"

Immediately, Ritsu and Ui hugged Azusa, fondling her petite stature like a pillow: licking her face, running their fingers through her twin tails, nibbling at her ears and neck, and Ritsu even let her hands go underneath Azusa's skirt as Ui massaged her bust.

"Oh my Azunyan, you didn't want be lonely?" Ui moaned, her chest heaving. "You think we will let a poor helpless kitty like you get stranded in the rain? Don't you want to be taken home, pampered like the princess you are? I know you do. Don't hide it, you adorable thing, you. There is nothing left to hide, A-zu-nyan."

"Ui is right," Ritsu said, licking her lips. "These hands were meant to touch every part of your womanly goodness, to savor your charms and the sweet things about you, again and again, again and again, again and again! Oh Azusa, don't you know that if I keep fondling the best parts of you I'm going to come!"

Tsumugi grabbed a tissue to clog her bleeding nostrils. Mio rolled her eyes in disgust. Azusa finally had it and freed herself of the two of them, who clasped each other's hand.

"Goodness gracious!" Ritsu cried.

"Great balls of fire!" Ui gasped.

"Will you two idiots knock it off?" Mio shouted in the back. "And what's with the Jerry Lee Lewis reference?"

"Ahhahahahah, oh my," Tsumugi said, drinking her tea. "I remember that song. My dad listens to it all the time at work."

Azusa was up in arms. "Why are the two of you hitting on me like this? I love both of you, more so for Ui, but come on, this isn't the time for a threesome! We have work to do! And on top of all that, why are you all still here?"

"Because this place gives us a piece of mind that you should be familiar with right about now," Ui said.

"And it's air-conditioned," Ritsu added.

"And don't forget the sweets," Sawako said. "You have the right to be here. Not just as a club member, but as a student."

"Amen!" Ritsu and Ui said blissfully.

"Holy cow, Miss Sawako is here." Azusa still could not believe that the school would allow seniors to finish their time with their clubs until they graduated. As she saw it, they were breaking school policy and getting away with it. If this were to be the case, then a new rule has to be made which would allow outgoing seniors to be with their club until graduation. For Azusa, it just wasn't right for any club to be an exception to the status quo. Even the light music club.

"Your tea and cake is ready, Lady Nakano," Mugi said, producing a plate with the trademark strawberry cake slice and a cup of Earl Grey poured into Azusa's pink kitty cup.

"Lady Nakano?" Azusa said, confused as she finally took her seat. "What the...? I thought it was Azusa-chan."

"Just wanted to try it out, that's all."

"Oh. Spare me the formalities...Mugi-sempai."

Ton-chan swam in his tank, swaying soundly over the conversation. "You know, we were joking about the idea of not retiring after the school festival," Mio said as Ui connected her iPod to the dock, playing some random power pop songs. "This room has transformed into our study headquarters for the upcoming admissions exams. Hence, Miss Sawako being here as our personal tutor."

Azusa gave a sigh of relief. "So they aren't above the law, but time is running short," she thought.

"Is this a problem?" Tsumugi asked her.

"Not really. Whatever you have to do is whatever you have to do. And now I know why Miss Sawako is here. She's not just here for the snacks."

"Nope, more to it," she said, finishing her cake and getting a warm sip.

"And besides, I like having people around."

"So, with that being said," Ritsu cooed as Ui nodded off, "aren't you so damn friggin' glad we didn't leave you alone, Azusa?"

"I am. But are you guys able to study and not get distracted by the other stuff going on?"

"Of course I can, you jackass!"

A pouting Ui echoed the same sentiments. "How rude of you! You know we can get the work done, no problem. It's just Ritsu here that need a kick up the backside."

"Shush! I will hear no more of your faggotry!"

"No, you can't," Azusa said. "Especially you, Ritsu-sempai. I can see the cries for help gracing your face. You're right, Sempai. There's nothing left to hide after all."

"By the way, Ricchan," said Miss Sawako, "you need to tell me you've decided on what you want to do after you're done with school here. You haven't submitted your career plan form yet."

"Uh oh, our little drummer girl here better get to work, yo," said Ui, elbowing Ritsu for emphasis.

Naturally, Ritsu took objection to the news. "Hey, we attended the summer study sessions, so that has to be enough."

"You gotta cut her some slack," Ui said, working on her slice. "She wants to head into college, just like the rest of us."

"Which colleges? And which departments."

More elbowing. And a hesitant laugh. "Ritsumeikan, right, Ricchan?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...hahah, it has my name on it. And, uh, music! Creative arts! Yeah, that's it, hahah, I'm gonna be a music major and take drumming to a whole new level, right Ui?"

"You said it, not me."

"Well, why didn't you write it on the sheet?" Sawako asked Ritsu.

"Uh...hah...I forgot?"

"You know, Miss Sawako," Ui said, still working on her slice, "I want to be just like you!"

"Even though you've already filled out the inventory and sent it to me..." Sawako inched in closer and whispered as an aside. "...you think you can take the workload I'm going through right now?"

"I can, if I can get the credential."

"It's flattering of you to say that, though, by the way. Just wanted to pass that along."

"I not only want to teach and coordinate class events, but I want to eat sweets, drink tea, and enjoy fun conversations with my soon-to-be-old-club at a garnished wage."

"I hope you were being facetious when you were saying 'garnished!'"

"I was."

"Ah-hah. Moving right along," Sawako said, turning to the bassist of the team, "Mio-chan, you need to submit the required paperwork at about this point in the year. The universities you're applying to need it, so get that done."

"Roger that, Miss Sawako," she replied with a salute.

"That's the application, recommendations and the transcripts, right?" Ui asked her.

"Bingo," Tsumugi replied.

"Robble, robble, robble. Been there, done that. And so, I defer to the floor."

"Your academic performance is very superior," Sawako said, sipping her tea, "and because of this, you should not have any problems passing any university's screening of recommendations. The same can be said of Ui-chan and Mugi-chan."

Azusa was elated. "Impressive, you guys!"

"We try, we try," Ui said. "Being on the ball will pay off, after all."

Mio took the compliments with a grain of sugar. "Thanks a lot, but we have a ways to go in the process."

"Mugi-sempai," asked Azusa, "are you planning to test for Japan Women's University?"

"That's correct," she said, "and my early prognostications suggest that this should not be a problem."

"Wow. You're on the ball."

"And it will pay off, after all," said Ui, to which Mio laughed.

"I think I should try testing for JWU," Ritsu said out of jealousy.

"That's on my shortlist," Ui said, "but I also got Keio, Waseda, Toudai, Kwansei Gakuin, Doshisa and Ritsumeikan on there. That would be so friggin' hilarious: we all end up admitted to that school in Bunkyo Ward. Hello commuter life!"

"Well, you guys need to keep your options open," said Miss Sawako, pointing it out to them. "You don't get fixated on one school because your friend is going to it. You guys all need a college education. But for goodness sakes, don't try to force yourselves into all this and apply for the same school in the hopes that you all get accepted. It's a rough process, and in a perfect work, everyone would be accepted at their first-choice university. That's not how it works."

"Got it, Miss Sawako," Ritsu and Ui chorused disappointingly.

The teacher rose from her chair. "That being said, Mio-chan, hand in the paperwork by tomorrow, and you should be good."

"Yes, Miss Sawako."

"Take care, ladies." And she was off.

"All right, while Ritsu is struggling to get her dream career in focus," Ui said while the coast was clear, "I have for your perusal a magazine of different hairdos and wigs."

"Uh, why are you reading that?" Azusa asked.

"Personal preference. And this also needs a decision, too."

"Why all of a sudden though?" she wondered as Ui presented a menu of styles to choose from. It was an overwhelming array of hairdos, too.

"See, I need to decide what hairstyle to have for the yearbook photo, the photo for the Campanile. I really want to look sharp in this one, because it will be with me for the rest of my life."

Azusa blinked. "Wait a second; you're not going to study for the exams?"

"Azunyan. You don't understand the situation, love. The admissions exam is next year. The yearbook photo shoot is the day after tomorrow. Now you tell me which should have higher priority. I bet you the latter will win out every fucking time."

Mio was stunned. "Next year? Next year? Dear God, have you gone mad?"

"I know I have to get help from Mio, but even I have to question that logic," Ritsu concurred.

"Look, Ui-sempai, even though we all know how you do things, you'd better brush up on your study or you're gonna fail this thing."

"As if I don't know that already," Ui replied with indifference, shrugging her shoulders. "And a little word of advice: don't use the word 'fail' around students preparing for admissions exams; that's not nice."

Ritsu froze in fear and laid her head face-down on the table. "Oh God, did you have to say that? As well as "split" and "separate." Nice going, you wanker!"

"What? What did I do?" Azusa asked them.

"Those are for weddings," Tsumugi said to Azusa.

Mio scowled. "I thought that's divorces."

"Manzai skit, impromptu edition...mission accomplished!" Ritsu exclaimed, throwing her hands with an "Ayyyy-oh, baby let's go!"

Ui and Tsumugi followed suit. "Wahey!"

"Here we go," Azusa said to Mio with a look of disgust.

"Hey Mio-chan," Ui asked her, "you found a style you like from this menu of tantalizing options, baby?" She peered over. "Whoa. You, of all people, want your yearbook picture with THAT hairdo? You serious? Haaaaaardcore!"

Highlighted orange spikes with green tips to go with silver hoop earrings, purple lipstick and green eyeliner. So mysterious, so sexy, and so...Death Devil-like. "Absolutely not," she deadpanned, turning the pages. "Faith, here's one that fits my fancy."

"Let's take a look." They all took a look. "And she feels the vibration." Dreadlocks with raspberry highlights and a flower for good measure. Ui had to break into song. "I wanna love ya, and treat ya right, I wanna love ya, every day and every night..."

"Oh, can you cut it out with the Bob Marley act?" Azusa growled. "Good God!"

"That was a joke, by the way," Mio said, blushing.

"This style might look good for me," Ui said. "I'll part my bangs to the left, and after they get a perm, I'm gonna look like Aki Toyosaki. Hah! For reals, yo! This is dynamite! And I love the pink lipstick on this one."

"So, you want to look that different, huh?" Azusa asked her.

"It's not that much of a difference, but it does look like I am a student from JWU."

Ritsu also didn't think this was a good idea. "Are you sure you don't like what you have now?"

"Girl, you're amazing just the way you are," Mugi sang

Ui waved it off. "Spare me the Bruno Mars, Milady."

"Tomorrow, do you guys want me to bring my camera so we can take practice shots?" Ritsu asked.

"All you, Ricchan!" And so the plan was set. Priority had switched to the yearbook. But Mio needed to get those papers sent in tomorrow; therefore, forgetting about this important item of business was something to be avoided for sure.

* * *

Evening came to the city, and Ui was back in the living room looking at her elementary school yearbook. As always, Yui was brought in to help. "The moment I wake up, before I put on my makeup, I say a little prayer for you," Ui sang. "And when I was in grade school, I was beaming then like I am now. Old habits do die hard."

"Onee-chan, did you want me to go play that Dionne Warwick song on your iPod?" Yui asked.

"Please."

Setting the iPod on the deck, Yui played Dionne Warwick's rendition of "I Say A Little Prayer."

Ui continued with her anecdotes. "And this was the same thing in my junior high edition, though it wasn't as pronounced. Both times I had the ribbon."

"Obviously, onee-chan. You seemed a bit more sad when you were in junior high."

"Well, I was a bit more melancholy back then. Not anymore. I think when I joined the club, my whole outlook changed. It must something in the cake, something in the tea. Something."

"I was grinning too much while I was in grade school. I mean, this was my first yearbook picture, and I'm like, man! I can't contain my emotions."

"Ahhhh."

"I think when I was in grade school...that was the first time ever that I tied my hair back with a yellow ribbon. You know the thrift store up the road, and how this guy is selling all these curios and stuff?"

"Yeah."

"Well, there was this one yellow lace ribbon that caught my attention. I asked him, 'Hey mister, can I wear this for my yearbook picture?' He said, 'No one else is buying it, you can have it for free.' I had been wearing that ribbon until my sophomore year, when I went with your hairclips. I bought a new one, but I don't know if I should wear it one more time or not."

"You remember a lot of things, onee-chan."

"And you know the weird thing about all this? It seems as if it all happened yesterday. Everything in my life happened yesterday. I've got a pretty damn good memory of what the hell went on since the early 90's, when you and I were born."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I even remember the last time you wet the bed when we were little brats."

"Ehhhh? You're mean, onee-chan!"

Ui laughed. "I'm just teasing you. But I still remember..."

A fearful whimper could be heard from Yui's lips. "It's so embarrassing!"

"Therefore," Ui said, getting up quickly and striking a pose, "I have decided to make it a priority to strive for perfection this time around."

Yui bought into it, pumping her fists. "Whoa. That's the spirit! You can do it, onee-chan!"

"You bet I will!"

So the next day, the four seniors cast lots on who would do the preliminary photo shoot first, with Azusa proctoring. "First one up: Ritsu-sempai," she announced back at the music room, where Ton-chan continued to sway inside his tank.

"Here we go, ladies and gentleturtle," she said, rolling her sleeves before Tsumugi brushed her hair straight. "Your hair looks wonderful when the band it off, Ricchan," Mugi said with a bubbly touch. "It's so exquisite and has the scent of caramel."

"Let's not go there, Mugi."

"But really, when you have the hairband off, you look sexier."

Ritsu blushed. "Are you just trying to...embarrass me or something?"

"Flattering you, honey buns."

"Awwww, how nice."

Tsumugi giggled. "I can't stop touching it; it looks so awesome."

"All right, all right."

"Let's put this thing on, then." Mugi applied Ritsu's iconic hairband.

"Cool."

Tsumugi studied the aesthetics for a few seconds. "Did you want me to move it a bit higher?"

"Not really; this is my traditional position."

"Let's move it." She did. "Too high for you?"

"It's a bit too high," Mio said, repositioning the location. "Let's move it down...here." Just a centimeter and a half down.

"Looks good," Ui said.

"Roger that," Mugi added.

"Let's take a shot," Azusa said, whipping out her pink camera. "Ritsu-sempai, ready?"

"Do it." A snap.

"Take a look." She went over. "How's that?" It definitely looked tomboyish in appearance. Ritsu looked like a student that was well-disciplined, thoughtful and focused, and those were attributes that she clearly lacked during the time she was here.

"Not bad."

"Let's take one more," said Azusa as Ritsu got back in her seat. "Ready?"

"Go for it." A snap. This was less tomboyish and more effeminate. Now Ritsu looked a well-off office lady.

"That looks good," Ui said as the others took a glance.

Tsumugi nodded. "Mmm-hmmm."

Mio gave her two cents on the result. "You know, guys, Ritsu has never been concerned about how she looks in these types of pictures, but she is able to pull it off subconsciously."

"Mio-sempai, based on the lots casted," Azusa said, "you're next, right?"

"I am? Oh. Okay." She took her seat.

"Ready?"

"Yeah." A snap. It didn't look right. Mio looked unwilling to do this.

"Yuck, what is this?" Ritsu asked. "Try it again, Azusa.*"

"Ready, Mio-sempai?" Azusa asked her.

"Mmm-hmmm." A snap. Same result.

"Again. Ready?"

'Yeah." A snap. The same result.

Ui groaned in disbelief. "Boy, she does not look like she wants to do this at all."

"This is all she can do, really," Ritsu conceded. "I mean, Mio is always nervous as heck when it comes to the yearbook. It's plain pathetic when you think about it. I mean, treat the camera as if you are making eye-contact with somebody. It's not hard."

"Tomorrow, when it's your turn, you just need to relax and follow Ritsu-sempai's advice," Azusa added.

"Y...Yeah, I will," Mio stuttered.

Mugi gave some clichéd words of encouragement as a form of damage control. "Believe in yourself; you can do it!"

"Based on the lots cast, you're next, Mugi-sempai," Azusa said to her.

"All right." Tsumugi took her seat.

She positioned the camera. "You ready?"

"Yes, ma'am!" She was making different faces for the camera before puffing her cheeks. A snap. The sumo-wrestler look.

Ritsu was not amused. "Mugi. Have you gone absolutely mental? Why this?"

"I always appear to be gentle," she explained, "so I wanted to look serious this time."

"Serious? Serious? Seriously, you look like a sumo wrestler involved in a match-fixing scandal! It's all over the news, you know."

"You actually look better just the way you are, with all due respect to Bruno Mars," Ui replied.

"You think so?" Tsumugi wondered.

"Just try it," Mio said with a twinkle in her eye.

"All right, gentle look for me, then."

"One more time," Azusa groaned. "Ready?"

"Yes, ma'am!" A snap.

Ui inferred. "The look of a business executive is one that can only be pulled off either by those who come from affluent families, or by those who aim to rise from the ranks and be their own boss. Miss Tsumugi Kotobuki is an example of sporting the look I just mentioned. Any questions?"

"That looks awesome," Ritsu said.

"Impressive," Mio added.

Azusa joined in. "And that leaves one senior remaining: you, Ui-sempai."

"That's me. Let's do it." Yui took her seat and tied her hair back with her yellow ribbon. "I don't know whether or not I should keep the clips." For the time being, she had them on.

"I think you should remove them, so that you don't get confused with Yui."

Ui took them off, leaving her ribbon. "Done." She straightened her tie one last time.

Azusa positioned the camera. "You ready?"

"All yours." A snap. It was a look of reflection mixed with optimism. A look that represented a new beginning after a journey that met its inevitable conclusion. A look that had no regrets for the past and a look that hopes for better things to come. Ui was set to be a university student, but there were so many things that had to be done first. And this yearbook photo was one of them.

Azusa has to laugh. "Something wrong, Azunyan?" Ui asked, concerned as she peered over.

"No, it's just...it looks too beautiful! If this were a flashlight, I would never get lost again! One more time?"

"Go ahead." A snap.

"And that looks good. One more time." A snap.

"This looks too normal," Ritsu said as the others gathered around.

"You look like a really serious student," Mio said to Ui.

"Because I am?"

Ritsu shrugged. "As if we don't know that already."

"Guys," Mugi asked the congregation, "was that supposed to be a joke?"

"No, it's a fact. To a certain degree."

Ui studied her photo with a passion as she took the ribbon off and placed the clips back on. "You think my bangs are a bit too long, you guys?"

"They are good," Azusa said to her.

But she shook her head. "I don't know. I mean...it's a little bit too long."

"You sure?" Mio wondered.

Ui knew what to do next, with a nod. "Time to give this a trim!" The others looked at her with bewildered looks as she brought out her scissors.

Tsumugi took objection to this. "Ui-chan!"

So did Azusa. "Hold on a minute! Why would you do that?"

Ritsu didn't think this was a smart idea either. "You have to go to the barbershop just up the road from the school to get your hair fixed."

Mio agreed. "That's what she said. You can just ask the guys there to trim only your bangs."

"The last time I went to the barbershop," Ui recollected, "they trimmed my bangs waaaayyy too short. No pun intended, but that's not gonna cut it. I mean, the length is just right after a week, but that it going to be way too late for tomorrow's shoot."

"Well at least ask Mugi to trim it for you," Ritsu said.

"I haven't forgiven her for exposing my forehead."

Tsumugi looked at Ritsu in shock. She was being put on the spot. "But...how can I handle such an important task as that?"

"Ease up, Mugi," Ui said, brimming with confidence as she brought the scissors forward. "I also do this every few weeks, just like how the boys shave their faces and we shave our legs. Watch."

Azusa looked with the curiosity of a cat, while Ritsu and Mugi viewed the proceedings with horrified looks on their faces. "God dammit, I can't watch this," Mio said, trembling.

With skillful precision, Ui trimmed her center bangs to the length she wanted them. Left, right, left, right, and left again. A snip here, another snip there. Ui was her own personal barber. Afterwards, she slicked them down back to their natural position. "That looks better. How's that, you guys?"

"That was it?" Ritsu asked with an embarrassed chuckle. "Just a few hairs? I thought it was worse."

Tsumugi had nothing but rave reviews. "That's great, I like it."

"Might as well go for that style, then." Mio and Azusa were beaming.

Ui continued to wonder as she looked in the mirror. "Hmmmm. Maybe they are still a bit too long."

Mio and Ritsu were shocked. "Huh?"

So were Mugi and Azusa. "Wait a..." Of all the people blindsided by the news, Azusa got hardest-hit.

The four of them watched as Ui continued to trim her center bangs one more time with tenacious apprehension. She was old hat at these types of things, Ui was, and she gave it one more snip, and she was done

"She did it." Ritsu said.

Azusa had no idea either. "Wow."

"No kidding," Mio said.

Tsumugi couldn't believe it. "Ui?"

"I told you I could get this done," Ui said to them. "Azusa."

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Go play the 'Linus and Lucy' track on my iPod."

"O...Okay, Ui-sempai."

Vince Geraldo's piano prowess dominated the room as Ui looked at herself in the mirror. "You ever heard of Patricia Reinhardt from the Peanuts series?"

"You mean Peppermint Patty, right?" Ritsu replied.

"Well, guess what: I now look like her, but with a ponytail."

"That a very...liberal interpretation of her," Mio deduced.

"How many centimeters did you trim off?" Tsumugi asked Ui.

"Oh, just a half of a half of a half."

"God, that is a small amount," Azusa said.

Mio agreed. "Really small."

"Oh Azunyan," Ui cooed, slowly taking off her jacket to expose her shoulder suggestively. "You're so dreamy." Azusa fainted at the spectacle. Ui was such a tease.

Mio was rubbing her eyes. "Wait, what are you..." She fainted as Ui blew a kiss.

"Did you want me to brush your hair to the side?" Tsumugi asked her, whipping out her brush.

"Go ahead and do it." A few strokes did the job.

"Mugi, the time has come for some tea," Ritsu said to her.

"All right, coming right up. And today's cake of the day is the Mont Blanc."

"Fantastic."

Ui's ears perked. "The Mont Blanc? Are you serious? That's some crazy stuff! That's our Mugi-chan, always on it."

A golden treasure it was, with layers of chestnuts topped with whipped cream and butterscotch. "I agree with Ricchan, this is some fantastic stuff," Ui said.

"I did it again," Tsumugi said, high-fiving Mio, Azusa and Ritsu.

"Yes, you did," quoth the drummer as they all looked at Ui against the light of the afternoon. "Here you go." She gave her butterscotch piece to Ui to placate her further.

"Are you sure?"

"But of course, Ui. You don't need to be down over anything like this because you know we got your back."

Ui was moved. "Ohhhh Ricchan, baby, I love you so much!" Tsumugi and Mio placed their pieces of butterscotch on Ui's. "Whoa!" The gratitude they had for her was immense.

"Jeez, you guys spoil her too much," said Azusa. "Oh well, if I must, I must." She finally placed her piece on Ui's mont blanc.

"Gahaah, this is too awesome! Thanks, you guys." The others were grinning from ear to ear. They liked seeing Ui that way. They really did. And they wouldn't want it any other way. The butterscotch pieces formed a little circular cross on top of Ui's mont blanc.

Outside campus, Mio and Ritsu watched Ui, Azusa and Tsumugi take their leave for the night. "Take care, and see you all tomorrow," Ui said to the two of them.

"We'll be on our way," said Azusa.

"Cheers," Mugi chimed.

"All right, then," said Ritsu.

"See you," said Mio. And Ui, Mugi and Azusa were off.

"Oh, that reminds me. Hey Mio," she said to her, "weren't you supposed to turn in the recommendation application today?"

"Yeah."

"Did you forget?"

"Well, you need to turn yours in as well. Your career plan form, that is."

They both went on their way. "I know, I know."

"I'm submitting mine's tomorrow," Mio said as the birds sung in the distance against the pastel afternoon skies.

* * *

Yearbook day came soon enough to the campus. All the students were getting prim and proper at the last second for their mugs to be placed on the Campanile.

"You seem more than ready, onee-chan," Yui said to Ui as they changed their shoes inside the changing room.

She covered a handkerchief over her hair. "I hope so. The way my bangs were trimmed, it should look just about right."

Yui spotted Azusa. "Morning, Azunyan."

"Hey there. Morning."

"Good morning, my sweet kitty," Ui said to her.

"Why do you have a handkerchief over your head?"

She couldn't look at them in the eye. "I've come to realize, dear sister and kitten, that I shouldn't have trimmed those bangs."

"Ohhhhh?" Azusa had to know.

Back at Class 3-2, Ritsu wondered about the regrets Ui had about the trim. "You already did it to yourself, so you should have no regrets, really."

"It's too late to do anything now," Mio added.

"Guess so," Ui said to the two of them, looking down at her desk while waving them off. "Don't mind me, then. Give me two weeks and I'll be fine in a hurry, I promise you."

"Hey Ui-chan, if you act like you are right now, I won't be giving you any more cake for the rest of the year," Tsumugi warned.

"If you say so." Ui put the handkerchief away, placing it in her pocket. She donned her ribbon to go with her clips.

Ritsu rolled her eyes. "Oh brother."

The bust of the founder had a brown cowboy vest and a bucket hat to boot as the shoot began. The freshmen were shot first, followed by the sophomores and then the seniors, and all the classes were shot in numerical order. It was Class 3-2's turn, and a photographer from out of town was hired by the school to do the yearbook photos.

One snap. Another snap. Another snap. He took their wonderful faces with dead-on accuracy.

"You're up next, Mio-chan," Ui said to Mio as Tsumugi brushed her hair one final time for encouragement. She proceeded to wipe some dust off her shoulders.

Soon afterwards, Mugi was done. "And you're set."

"Miss Akiyama," Sawako said from the other side of the classroom. "You're up."

The news caught her by surprise. "Yes, ma'am!"

"It's not anything scary, believe me," Ui said to her.

"Right!"

"Okay, sweetie," said Ritsu, her fist in the air, "go get 'em!"

Ui saw her off. "Enjoy."

"Ease up, all right?" Mugi asked Mio as she walked to her seat in front of the photographer. "Relax, relax, and believe in yourself!" The others were laughing. This was doing more harm than good, to be honest.

"Who love you baby? We all do! Ain't that right, ladies!"

"Yeah!" said the others in the line with a laugh.

"Damn, now I'm even more embarrassed thanks to the others," Mio said with a deep blush.

Ritsu looked on sympathetically. "Take a deep breath." She did.

"Ready, Miss Akiyama?" asked the photographer.

"Yes, go right ahead." A snap. Not bad. It would make for a nice driver's license identification.

Tsumugi was up next. As she took her seat, she went with her natural look that reflected her upbringing.

"Ready, Miss Kotobuki?" he asked her.

"Yes." A snap. A perfect profile picture. If there was ever an ideal candidate for a housewife, Mugi was the one.

Now it was Ritsu's turn. "Ready, Miss Tainaka?" asked the photographer.

"All yours." A snap. It was a determined look, one that didn't need the restraints of the daily grind, and was fueled by a free-spirited will.

"Looks like I'm next," Ui said to the others, putting on her lipstick and parting her bangs so that they went as far down as he eyebrows.

"Here we go," Ritsu said to the others in the line. She dusted off friends shoulders while Mugi straightened her tie.

"How do I look?" Ui said to them.

"All systems go," they said with a nod.

"Let's do this." She took her seat.

"Ready, Miss Hirasawa?" the photographer asked?

"Yes, sir!" And a snap. That took care of the seniors on the club, with the rest of Class 3-2 yet to be shot.

Ui returned with the others. "I'm back, you guys."

"Welcome back, welcome back," Mugi replied, a relieved soul.

"Ah, Miss Akiyama," Sawako said to her, "later today, come to the faculty office. I need to speak with you."

"Uh, yeah," she replied.

They all turned to her. Ui looked at the others. "Uh oh."

* * *

"So," Miss Sawako said in her news bulletin to Mio, "you forgot about the recommendation application I needed you to fill out."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"No worries. I get this all the time; you're not the only one. Now, here's what's going to happen now that this has been brought to my attention..."

Mugi, Ritsu and Ui peered over behind the door in "a master is out" mode to see just what exactly was going on with their bassist ladyfriend.

"Thanks you very much for letting me know," Mio said with a bow, concluding her conversation with the teacher.

"We'll see you later," Miss Sawako said, seeing her off.

Mio rejoined the others. "How was it?" Ritsu asked.

Ui meant to find out as well amidst the chatter in the office. "Mio-chan, what did she tell you?"

The look in her face was that of sheer melancholy.

Ritsu also inquired. "Did you turn down the admission by recommendation or something?"

"What?" Ui exclaimed, turning to her.

Mugi was also stunned. "Why would she do that?"

The melancholy turned to contempt. "How the hell did you know?"

Ritsu was dead-on. "I've known you for a very long time, Mio. I know what you plan to do. There are times in which I am a few steps ahead of you, and I have to be quite disappointed that you chose to do this. Atypical of my dearest one to forget the application, for your information."

"Anyway, why did you turn it down?" Ui asked her. "You chose to miss the boat on your own terms. Un-fucking-believable."

"I know," Mio said softly to the others. "But there is a reason why."

"What's that?"

"I prefer to study with you guys for the exams. I already know Ui has submitted her recommendation, but she wants to help us out as a tutor. I think if we do it this way...God willing...we will all be admitted to the same university. I don't care if it's Keio, Waseda, Toudai, or even JWU. I want us to all be together at the same university come next April. This way, we can continue playing while living our lives as university students."

"That sounds like a plan, even though I already got a reference from Miss Sawako for those schools. And if that happens, Azunyan knows what university she has to get a recommendation for if she wants to be with us again."

Mugi and Ritsu were surprised.

"The same university?" Ritsu asked Mugi and Ui.

"Are you serious?" the keyboardist wondered. "That is dedication right there. HTT will never quit. HTT will never die."

For the five of them, the glow of the afternoon sun gave way to a myriad of possibilities...and some growling stomachs against the Tokyo skies. "I am so friggin hungry," Ritsu said to the others. "Medic."

"Same here," Ui added.

"Guys, you already had some sweets at our meeting," Mio said to both of them.

"Short-term memory; guilty as charged."

"Take care,' Ritsu said to Ui, Mugi and Azusa.

"See you," Ui said.

Mugi waves at them. "Adios, amigas."

"Be safe," said Azusa.

Mio heard her kouhai loud and clear. "You got it." The early evening came to the city soon enough.

Morning broke once more over the Girls Campus and as she downed the rest of the coffee, Miss Sawako was at the office, checking the latest batch of homework assignments.

"Miss Sawako?" It was Mio.

"Yes?" She was with Ritsu—who had her career plan completed—and Ui. "What are the three of you guys doing here together?"

"They came here to submit their career plan forms," Ui said as Mio and Ritsu submitted their forms. "I was brought in to escort them."

Sawako took the forms. They look complete, and were well-written.

"How are they?" Ui inquired.

"Well, I am going to utter two words: Forms Accepted. Miss Tainaka, I am changing your grade regarding this assignment from a 2 to a 5. well done. And good work as well, Miss Akiyama."

Mio and Ritsu were relieved. "Well done, that teacher," Ui said with a thumbs-up.

"Hell yeah!" Mio and Ritsu exclaimed, the latter with a punch of the air.

Tsumugi looked on, captivated and blushing. All forms were in. She pranced all around, jumping in celebration, squealing joyfully. "Oh happy day! Praise God that this is done! Hallelujah!"

"I wish you well in whatever you do," Sawako remarked.

"If you all get admitted to Japan Women's University together, every one of us in 3-2 should throw a special party in your honor. And I think Miss Nakano knows where to go. I hope you guys get it done, but remember, it's not gonna be an easy journey. But I believe you are more than capable of handling it."

"Yes, ma'am!" they all chorused.

"At ease. You are the class of the class, and I stand by you. Take care."

"We did it," Ui said as the four of them reunited.

"This career plan thing is history, finally," Ritsu said. "And she said that if we all get admitted to the JWU, we're gonna have a special potluck on the way. Wonder where we're going to hold that one."

"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves," Mio said to both of them. "We still have to prepare for the examinations, and we have to go all out. There's no turning back; it's all downhill from here."

"You got it."

"I think we'll celebrate this accomplishment with some tea," Ui said to the crew. "How about that."

"I concur with Miss Hirasawa on the proposal," Ritsu deduced, flipping a 500-yen coin in the air before clutching it on its downward direction.

Mio rolled her eyes. "Hey, we still have a few more hours to go before that happens; it's still morning!"

"It's all about the Tea Time, because we are what we drink!"

But while all the other universities still were under consideration, for the seniors of the light music club...it was JWU or bust.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 21**


	22. Let Me Put My Love Into You

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 22:**

**Let Me Put My Love Into You

* * *

**

Winter's icy bite was dominating the Tokyo skies as December came to Japan. The year 2010 was closing before the world's very eyes, and the push for the examinations and hopes for the future continued for the seniors of Sakuragaoka High School Girls' Campus.

And soon enough, Christmas and New Year's Day passed before their very eyes. The girls went to Hachioji to pray for divine intervention and strength as they prepared for their examinations.

2010 was over. In came the year 2011, and with it, the most difficult three months for the Light Music Club. Practices were kept to a minimum and were only done once a week as the seniors brushed up on their studies. For Mio Akiyama, Ui Hirasawa, Tsumugi Kotobuki, and Ritsu Tainaka, it was Japan Women's University or bust.

"You got any plans for Valentine's Day?" Fumie Kimura asked Akane Satou as they both warmed their hands over the heater in Class 3-2.

"Well, I've already got plans to meet with my boyfriend at the Boys Campus," she replied. "We're going out to eat, and we plan to stay at a love hotel on the 14th."

"Sounds like a plan. As for me, I'm just going to give chocolates to this person I know from a high school down in Sagamihara. We hooked up via the Internet, and he looks kinda cute. I can't wait to meet him."

"Just pray to god he is not a nerd."

"I know, right?" They laughed as they continued to warm their hands.

Downstairs at Class 2-1, Azusa Nakano was warming her hands with a towel as she and Yui Hirasawa watched Nodoka Manabe browse over chocolate cake from a magazine. Already the soon-to-be student council president was thinking about Valentine's Day 2011. "You know something?" Azusa said to her. "I didn't know that you had a penchant for baking cakes."

"True story: when I first baked a cake back in junior high, I had mom and dad help me. But nowadays, I use cookbooks, YouTube, cooking shows on free to air, and my own imagination. Then I blend it together, pour it in a tray and put it in the oven, and see where it takes me with a ring of the bell."

Azusa chortled. Nodoka had a pretty good sense of humor, albeit dry. "Is that so?"

"Back at my house, we have plenty of chocolate materials, cream, fruits, flour, syrups...the pantry is loaded to the brim. Heck, my family could host a party for 50, and there would still be plenty left for us. It's that loaded."

"Hmmmm. You're not joking right."

"I hold this truth to be self-evident," she said, raising her right hand, "that the Manabe family embraces the spirit of gastronomy full-on!"

"Ahhh."

"I talked with Jun-sempai about this, and she could only dream of baking a cake for her future husband. She's not there yet."

"Whereas for you, you're there. Sort of."

"Yes, sort of."

"Nodoka-chan makes some very tasty snacks," Yui said. "But it's not as good as the stuff onee-chan makes, or what Mugi-chan brings to the meetings."

"Hey, hey, hey, be nice Yui," she said to her, flashing a victory grin. "Anyway, as I was saying to both of you, it's not very often I prepare for Valentine's Day, but I have to because it's my duty."

"I see." Azusa came to her senses. It was February. Two more months and the current incarnation of the Light Music Club would be history. "So who are you going to give your cake to?"

"I wanna know too, Nodoka-chan!" an enthused Yui exclaimed, fists pumped.

"Good question," Nodoka said to them. "I'm planning to share it with the Council. Everyone's gonna get a slice, and I'm gonna be left with the tea. If I can do that, then the seniors that will be leaving will have some type of closure when they go. Think about it: the future president-to-be, serving homemade cake for the next batch of alumni at Sakuragaoka. Another moment in the Council's long history."

"Wonderful," Azusa whispered. She admired Nodoka's loyalty to the cause as much as Yui admired Nodoka being a life-saver when things got rough. Azusa watched Nodoka continue to peruse over the various confections plastered on the pages in colored ink.

"How about you, Azusa? You got any plans?"

"Eh?"

"What I was trying is: are you giving some of your treats to the seniors in the club?"

"Well...n...no..." Azusa had other things in mind.

"Ohhhh?" Yui asked, her lips* forming a number three tilted on its backside. "Who could they be for, A-zu-nyan?"

"Well, I didn't give them any last year, either."

The news was disappointing for Nodoka to stomach. "Is that so? Very unfortunate."

"I mean, I was planning to, but...Mugi-sempai had some treats that were served by the Belgian Royal Court. Last year, her father went on a business trip to meet with His Majesty King Albert II of Belgium, and the king presented him with a large package of custom-made chocolate before he went on the plane ride back to Narita. He gave it to Mugi-sempai, and she gave it to us. We were shocked, and our eyes turned to rings. But Mugi-sempai took it all in stride. They were so good; I forgot to give them my own."

"Hmmm, well anyway, those are some connections right there," said Nodoka. "It should always be an honor to have connections with the European royalty because it puts our entire clique a cut above the rest. But you shouldn't forget to do your part because if you do, it's going to be bad news and bad karma."

"That's some amazing stuff," Yui said, wearing her pink scarf. "I want to be a princess in Europe! Then I will have some really good chocolate to eat from Mugi-chan!"

"I don't believe that is how it works," Azusa replied tersely.

"Moving right along, what about you, Yui?"

"I will have onee-chan do it for me!"

"Really? Then it's not your chocolate; it's hers."

"I will have onee-chan help me out so I don't ruin the chocolate!"

"All right, suit yourself."

"Anyway, last year, onee-chan made some for me and Grandma Tomi. They were so good! I want some right now!"

"I'm sure you do, Yui, I'm sure you do."

"Nodoka-chan, I can make you one for you if you want."

"Uh, that's okay, Yui; we'll let your sister do it."

"No, no, I can make it for you, and it will be delicious, trust me."

"Fine. But it better be good and not taste like sandpaper."

Azusa thought about the issue at hand: the inability to give her chocolate to the seniors of the club. It was an unfortunate circumstance she was in, and Azusa felt like she was not giving the seniors and Ui the respect they deserved.

Yui peered over. "Hey Azunyan, you all right?"

That took her by surprise. Azusa blushed wildly. "I...I'm not thinking about Valentine's Day at all!"

Yui raised Azusa's chin and stroked it while she licked her lips. The move caused a weak-sounding mew and a purr from her, as she started to sweat from an accelerated pulse. "You can't lie to me, my precious kitty. I know you are. Just admit it, and surrender to your own carnal desires."

"She sure is, Yui," said Nodoka, returning back to the pictures of dessert arrangements for her personal perusal. Yes, she was. "Pet her a little bit more before the day is over."

* * *

Upstairs at the music room, Ui brought her laptop as an additional study apparatus. After plugging the bad boy to an outlet in the back, she proceeded to brush up on the concepts that would be highlighted in the examination at the test center down the road. She didn't need to take the examination because of the recommendation, but she decided to for the sake of doing it. "One of the great things about this school," she said to the others while typing, "is that there is Wi-Fi access. So you can use your laptop as an additional study tool. I love the English language. And there is the ability of browsing the Web..." A backbeat combined with a bass melody played in her mind as she continued to work on the questions on the study guide. "Who are you? Who, who? Who, who?"

"Oh, don't bring up that song," Ritsu moaned. "It's cheesy. Like Parmesan."

"That's a different context, Ritsu," said Mio indignantly.

"Keith Moon, one of my favorite drummers and known for his explosive acts of violence, was in that band, Mio."

"Oh yeah. Guess what, Ricchan?" Ui said.

"What's that?"

"I can see for miles and miles..."

"And miles and miles...

"AND MILES!" they both said.

"Oh yeah," Ui replied, laughing.

Mio shook her head dejectedly. "Jeez, Ritsu, you are soooo gonna be out of contention for admission with this, you know that?"

"In this question you point out," Tsumugi explained, "that is not what the word 'who' means. This is a relative pronoun, which is a pronoun (as `that' or `which' or `who') that introduces a relative clause referring to some antecedent."

Ui clapped her hands. "That's what she said."

"And you just used a relative pronoun with that statement. It's a natural, integral ingredient of any conversation. In this question, 'Who' is referencing this phrase." She pointed to the phrase with a pen on Ritsu's textbook.

"Fuck, I don't get it one fucking bit," Ritsu said, slumping over.

Ui raised an eyebrow. "What is there to not get, Ricchan?"

"This is basic stuff that we go over in class, dumbass," Mio muttered. "How many times do I have to tell you?"

A light bulb went in Ui's head. "You know something, Ricchan?"

"What's that?"

"You still have that, right?"

"Oh yeah, I do."

Mio raised an eyebrow. "And what could 'that' be?"

Ritsu produced a short, green pencil with numbers at one end. "Look, I has the pencil! Hex the Seven! Ask us any multiple choice question! Fire away!"

The eyebrow stayed raised. "What the hell?" Tsumugi was curious.

"Shush, you! We tested all pencils that were available at this campus and elsewhere within a 5-kilometer radius over the past two months (and we even did the testing in our kimonos at times), and we ended up with this. Hex the Seven is the best, with a recorded accuracy of 60%! That is a breakthrough, and it's modern science! It's fascinating research! And it's yours for just three easy payments of 2000 yen! Call toll-free 075 HX SEVEN! Operators are standing by! Order now!"

A frustrated hand worked its way down Mio's face. "Oh brother."

"Allow me to demonstrate. For example, this problem here..." She tossed it. The pencil rolled, revealing the number 3. "That's answer #3!" she exclaimed in English

"And that's correct," Tsumugi said.

Ritsu flashed a victory sign. "Oh yeah! And once again, it's yours for just three easy payments of 2000 yen! But wait, there's more! We'll add a box of 20 Hex the Sevens as a special gift for calling within the next 30 minutes! That's 20 bits and pieces of awesome! Never fail a college admission exam again! Call toll-free 075 HX SEVEN! That's 075 HX SEVEN! Operators are standing by! Order now!"

"You might stand a chance passing with that pencil, but if you can't use it at the center, then it might be a problem," Ui said to her.

"Also," Mio pointed out as Azusa read a yuri-oriented light novel for a few minutes, "the multiple choice questions for the admission exam we're going to take for JWU have nine choices per question."

"This just in: I am royally screw-ed," Ritsu said to the others, slumping on the desk.

"Will you quit it with your slumping!"

Azusa looked on, a lonely figure as she proceeded to tune Muttan and practice a few notes. She was happy that the four of them were studying, but she wanted to give them chocolate. She hoped that her gift wasn't getting in the way of what they wanted to accomplish.

"How am I going to give them the chocolate after all this?" Azusa thought. "This is just embarrassing for me to think about."

"Ritsu," Mio said to her, "look. You need to make memorizing your vocabulary a priority before you decide to throw in the towel like that."

"Awwww, Mio! How long have you know me, love? That's so mean of you!"

"Oh for God sakes, quit the dramatics."

Azusa was still thinking about her obligation. "I don't know what to say when I decide to give it to them," she thought to herself.

Tsumugi checked on her. "Azusa-chan."

"Yeah?"

"Is something bothering you?"

"Oh, no, not really."

"Azusa, you can go ahead and practice," Mio said as Ui continued to type and do research on the English language. "You don't have to worry about us. We can handle it."

Mugi echoed the same sentiments. "Exactly."

"A little background music please, Miss Nakano?" asked Ritsu. "Classical Gas is my recommendation."

"Mine's too, little kitty," Ui said.

"All right." She proceeded to play the Mason Williams classic.

"Ahhh, that is music to my ears," Ritsu said.

Taking a deep breath with her ears, Ui soaked it all up. "The only Mason Williams song that matters...Classical Gas."

"Thank you very much," Azusa said, continuing on.

"Back to the study grind, then," Mio said to the others.

Ritsu was twirling her mechanical pencil as she went over the questions.

Mio kept her in order. "Focus!"

Shrieking, Ritsu got back to working on her questions. "Sheesh."

Tsumugi stretched. "Ladies, shall we take a break from all this? I got the tea ready for you guys."

"All right!" exclaimed Ritsu and Ui, the latter putting her laptop away for the time being.

"Bugger this," Ritsu exclaimed, "I need to play some drums and get my sanity in order here. Or something."

"Back to my trusty friend Gitah," Ui said. "But first, a restroom break. Cut to commercials in 3...2...1."

Tsumugi called her over. "Azusa-chan, come over for the tea. Hurry."

"Uh...all right." She put Muttan away. "Sorry about that, I suppose I was disturbing your study session."

"Actually, we should apologize," Mio clarified. "We were the ones using the club room to study."

"Oh."

"Actually, I concentrate better when I am listening to music." In this, she meant the tunes on her iPod and laptop at home primarily. "You can play as much as you want." But the temptation proved to be too much, and as Ui got back and brought Gitah out, Mio brought out her Fender Jazz bass Elizabeth.

"Is milk tea fine with you, Azusa-chan?" asked Tsumugi.

"Sure."

"Sorry about that, I was only able to bring in cookies for today."

She looked inside. "That's actually more than enough. You should just focus on studying."

"Hmmm...Valentine's Day is coming up, so I wanted to get some chocolate ready, too..."

Azusa gasped. She remembered what happened last year, and the possibility of it happening again was there for the realization.

* * *

More discussions and debate were taking place down at Class 2-1 the following day. Azusa was reading her own magazine of confections for Valentine's Day. "I see," Nodoka said to Azusa on her return. "So you're giving out some this year, huh?"

"Correct. It doesn't look like Mugi-sempai will be bringing any. So I was thinking that I could give some for once. Just once. And all will be well with the world."

"I suppose I like what I am...hearing."

"I wanna taste your chocolate, Azunyan!" Yui said, enthused. "I don't know if it will be better than onee-chan's, but I know it has to be awesome! Right, sweetums?"

"We'll see about that, eheheh. Don't worry. I'll make you some! Ooof!" She was getting embraced. Hard.

"I knew my baby would pull through! Oh my little Azunyan, if you were made of chocolate," she said, kissing her, "I would eat you right now!"

"Okay, okay. Quit it, or else the deal's off."

"Nodoka-chan, help me! Azunyan is being mean to me," a sobbing Yui said, her face stuck inside the skindentation of her childhood friend.

"She's just showing her gratitude, Azusa," Nodoka said, petting Yui's head lovingly. "There, there, Yui. It's all right."

"Hnnnnnnnggghhh...Anyway Azunyan, if you give me some of yours, I will give you some of mine."

"Is it going to be a burned disasterpiece?" she asked.

"NODOKA-CHAAAAAN!" Yui wailed, burying her face deeper in her friend's cleavage.

"Sorry, sorry! I'll take whatever you make! I'm sorry!"

Yui had stars in her eyes. "Really?"

Azusa was amazed by the change in emotions. "That was quick!"

"AZUNYAAAAN!" Yui gave Azusa another hug and a kiss. "I love you!"

"I love you too; now can you let go of me?"

Nodoka had to laugh. "Could you make some for me, too?"

"Sure, sure, sure."

"Fabulous. I really like what I am hearing."

"Anyway," Azusa said, rising from her chair, "you cannot, I repeat CANNOT, tell Ui-sempai or the others about this or I will fuck both of you up in front of everybody the Tuesday after. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Yui said hastily.

"Good."

"You don't have to worry about a thing; we don't burn our bridges with anybody," Nodoka reassured.

"More power to you."

"However, I must warn you," she added motioning to her left, "a certain select few heard what you were saying." By this, she meant the entire class. If anyone knew who the light music club were and leaked the news out, the cat was literally out of the bag, covered in cocoa.

"Go get 'em, Azusa-chan!" said one of the other students.

"That is so cute, Azusa-chan," another said as the others laughed.

Azusa could do nothing more than deflate at the news. "Awwwww shit!" It was going to take her some time to make; too.

* * *

The snow began to fall on the city streets as the evening turned to morning in Tokyo. It slowed traffic down, added frost to the local temples, and in some cases, put the elderly in hospitals fighting for life due to a low body temperature. The admissions exam for JWU would take place later that day.

Ritsu was shivering as she looked at her phone inside the train station. 6:45 a.m. Japan Standard Time. Saturday, February 12, 2011. It was afternoon—Friday, February 11—in America. "Brrr! Goddamnit; it's so friggin' cold!"

"Looks like it's snowing in droves today, so the trains are delayed," Tsumugi said to her and Mio. All their noses were red from the jackfrost. Because of her location, Mugi got up the earliest to meet with the others at the station.

"Let's make sure I got my Tester's ID," Mio said, checking the pocket in her school-issued bag. "It's in here, in this pocket."

"She looks a bit nervous," Ritsu inferred. "Whereas for Ui, this is gonna be a walk in the park regardless of the outcome because of the recommendation/free pass route she took."

"You got everything?" Mugi asked her.

"Yes I do, Milady. I placed mine's here yester-uh oh." Her face turned blue, and sweat was coming from her pores as her pupils shrunk horrifically. "Oh shit! SHIT! This isn't good!" She frantically searched for the ID.

Mugi noticed a piece of paper lying on the platform. "Is that the one?"

Ritsu went over and grabbed it. "Gah! That was so friggin' close!"

Mio rolled her eyes. "Hey, don't do that to me, Ritsu; you nearly gave me a heart attack."

Ritsu laughed, embarrassed by her own clumsiness. "Sorry, sorry."

"Hey guys," Ui said, checking in with the others.

"There you are. So, how are things."

She whipped out a brush and straightened her hair. "Hello, hello, hello; we must be ready as we will ever be."

"Good morning, Ui-chan," Tsumugi said. "Had a good sleep?"

"Slept early and had a quick breakfast before I got here. It helps to know that the Lawsons has Red Bull, so I downed a can."

Ritsu could not believe it. "A Red Bull? You already will likely be admitted regardless of the exam result, why do you bother?"

"One word: solidarity. We're all in this...together. Right?"

"R...Right..."

"She really wants a perfect score on this thing," Mio said to the others.

Finally, the train to Bunkyo Ward and the testing center came.

"Ladies," Ui said to the others, "let's do this. Onward!"

A half-hour later, Yui went to the shrine near the Hirasawa house. She clapped her hands twice, bowed, and prayed. "O divine spirits, help my onee-chan and her friends do well in their examination. You have the power to give them the strength to succeed. Please make it possible."

Her intentions were true, and her aim was true. Would her wishes come true?

After praying, Yui decided to do a grocery run, as commissioned by Ui before she left to join the others at the station.

Back at the Lawsons, Azusa was procuring some chocolate material. "I wonder if they're taking the exams by now." They were. It was 10:08 a.m. JST.

Nodoka noticed her friend making some purchases as she ran an errand of her own. "Azusa?"

She turned around. "Oh, hi, Nodoka. How are you?"

"Fine as always. Anyway, are you shopping for Valentine's Day as well?"

"Yes, I am."

"So what do you plan to make?"

"It's just chocolate cake, Nodoka."

"Faith, it looks we got something scrumptious on the way from the Nakano kitchen."

"This looks like a difficult recipe to do, but not impossible." Azusa knew how to cook, but she nowhere in Ui's league or Mugi's.

"Can I take a look at the list of ingredients you have?"

"Uh, sure." Azusa took a list out of her pocket and presented it to Nodoka.

"Let's see here. Granulated sugar and heavy cream...ah, the sugar is right down here," she said, placing a sack in Azusa's blue basket.

"Yeah. But that's brown sugar."

"Here's the thing: chocolate is also brown in color, so it's a good match."

"Are you sure?"

"I use it all the time, too."

"Some good-quality chocolate material is right over in the next aisle." She grabbed a pink bag and placed in Azusa's basket.

"That's not for baking, though," Azusa said to her.

"Chocolate is chocolate, regardless of form. This is a brand I trust, for your information." Nodoka perused around. "And let's see what else we have here..."

"Hey Nodoka."

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever made a chocolate cake before?"

"Yes, I have. Many times. The last time I made one was two months ago, using the same ingredients I am giving you."

"It makes me wonder..."

"The point I'm trying to make here is that you don't need to exactly follow the same recipe as the one you have. Sometimes having a little liberty in the ingredients you choose adds to the recipe and makes it better because it's enhanced. Chefs do this all the time with their works at all the fancy restaurants in places like Minato and Shinjuku."

At last, Yui met with the others, flashing a Vulcan salute while carrying a large back of chocolate materials. "Azunyan, Nodoka-chan, hi!"

"Hello, Yui. So you're also shopping for Valentine's Day as well, I take it."

"Well, I'm doing this for onee-chan, too, since she gave me a list of stuff to purchase. She told me that I was capable of doing this if I follow the ingredients on the list i have."

Both Azusa and Nodoka took a look. "Are you sure you're not going to let Ui or your grandmother help you with this?"

"I can do this myself!" Yui said, thumping her chest defiantly.

"We believe you, we believe you. How many do you plan to make?"

"Actually, I am going to this for me and onee-chan, and we are going to share it together."

"Why do I feel a bit suspicious regarding all this?" Nodoka raised an eyebrow.

Azusa's faced cringed at the incestuous prospects. "All this for two people?" And she knew how big Yui's sweet tooth was. "With you getting a lion's share? Fucking hell, you're kidding me..."

"I kid you not," Yui said. "I can take it."

"Mother fucker..."

Yui peered over at Azusa's basket. She had to know. "Hey Azunyan, what are you making?"

"Well, it's supposed to be chocolate cake, but Nodoka's been giving me some unusual items instead."

"Ehhh...that doesn't look like it will be good to me...how about this: you come to my house and we all make chocolate together."

"Huh? Are you sure? We know you..."

"Yui," Nodoka said, "you're very clumsy and I have to question why Ui-sempai even commissioned you to do this work."

Tears welled up in Yui's eyes. "Nodoka-chan. Do you make me want to cry?"

"...oooooor maybe I'll just table the questioning for another time and another place. Let's do it."

"That was quick!" Azusa exclaimed, her eyes turning into rings of contempt. "You guys left me with no choice but to join you punks. Damn both of you!" It took them a bit longer to procure the remaining items. A half-hour, maybe more, maybe less. And Azusa eschewed the chocolate package Nodoka gave her for a package of Van Hooten baker's cocoa. Ironically, this was the same brand used at the Kotobuki combine.

* * *

As the day progressed, and the four seniors of the club wrapped up their admissions exam, Yui, Nodoka and Azusa were at the Hirasawa kitchen preparing to make some home-style chocolate.

Yui brought some slippers for the others. "Here are some fuzzy ones for you guys that I found in the back. I got one that is regular green, and the other is panda-shaped. Your choice."

"We'll take one of each," Azusa and Nodoka said. Azusa took the left panda slipper, Nodoka the right, and vice versa for the green pair.

Nodoka stirred the cocoa on a saucepan and Azusa poured 100g of sugar into a bowl on a scale. In the background, the Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself" was playing.

"Hmmmm, let's see here," Yui said as she donned an apron. "Azunyan, onee-chan always told me to measure the thing correctly and pour the sugar at the right weight."

"As if I don't know that already. By the way, you're making me do all the work here."

"Nodoka-chan, has the chocolate melted already?"

"Pretty much," she replied, sampling a little bit.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down Nodoka-chan. This chocolate's for everyone, not just you."

"Sorry, I couldn't help it." Culpable.

"Obviously, it's not just for Nodoka," Azusa inferred with a groan. "You're gonna eat a good deal of this when we're done!"

"Azunyan?" Yui asked.

"Eh?"

A kiss on the forehead.. "Hush, my little kitten."

Nodoka turned "Anyway, you think this is good enough? I think so."

Azusa shook her head. "Knowing Yui here, no friggin' way."

The door opened. "Here comes trouble," Nodoka said.

It was Ui. "Hey-yo! That was one hell of an exam. Oh, the Four Tops are on. I can't help myself, I want you and nobody else..."

Azusa could not believe that the cat could want to leap out of the bag so soon. "U...Ui-sempai?" Azusa could not believe her bad luck. Why now?

Yui waved at her. "Onee-chan, hel-lo! I was filling in for you when you were away. We got everything set. You got here early, too."

"Only two subjects were on tap today," Ui said to her. "Looks like everyone is here."

Azusa stood up straight, in fear. "Yes, we all are." She had to think of something. "Soooo, how did the exam go, Sempai?"

"Well, let's see." She crossed her arms to think for a bit. "I think I did fairly well. But I won't know for sure until the results are posted."

"I see."

"So what are you guys making?"

"Eh?"

"It's smells yummy and chocolaty..."

"Um...er..." Azusa was trapped.

"We're making chocolate cake, onee-chan," said Yui.

"You bastard, you told her!" Azusa exclaimed in her mind. So long kitten. Hope the bag wasn't too stuffy. Nothing like a little oxygen for a change.

"I see. That's cool," Ui said, applauding. "Can I have some when you guys are done?"

"You got it, onee-chan," Yui replied to her.

"Generally, I'm the person that does this, so I would like to see if what Granny's able to do, and what I'm able to do, is what you can do to. See you in a bit; I'm gonna go change!" She took off for her bedroom.

"All right, come back soon, onee-chan!"

Azusa was disconsolate. "Why the hell did you tell her, Yui?"

"I like to make sweet stuff for her when she doesn't do it for me, so she won't know that it's for Valentine's Day," Yui said. "We like making confections outside of holidays. She won't know the difference."

"So it's nothing incestuous right?"

Yui tilted her head to the side. "What's 'incestuous'?" Azusa whispered the definition. "Ehhhh? We would not do anything like that! That's so...that so friggin' perverted!"

"But aside from that, you actually cook sweets every day."

"We do. It's a family thing. But naturally, onee-chan does it better." Yui took a look at the ingredients. "Uh oh, we don't have any powdered sugar for decorations. Onee-chan wanted me to get this because it's on the list."

"So what should we do?" Azusa asked her and Nodoka.

Yui placed a palm in front of the others. "Leave it to me. I can go get some at one of the other stores nearby. I'll be back."

"As for me," said Nodoka, "I will..." And she saw Yui don her coat and scarf and run to the store. "...watch her fly on outta here. Go, Yui, go. Back to stirring the cocoa, then."

"You do that."

"You should go with her."

"Hey Yui, I'm going with you!" Azusa said, grabbing her coat and scarf

"Oh, and Nodoka-chan," Yui said at the door, "don't eat the cake."

"You got it," she replied, monitoring the process.

As for Azusa, she still wondered if Yui's arguments were true regarding the tradition.

* * *

A hastily-made snowman dubbed "Parson Brown" by the local schoolchildren who made him was standing outside the shrine, watching passers-by in the cold. Without a doubt, Mio, Ritsu and Tsumugi were busy cramming for the remaining subjects to be tested the following day. So was Ui, but she was in to checking the subjects online upstairs in her bedroom via her laptop.

While returning from the store, Azusa and Yui took a walk down the street, looking at the frost and breathing in the cold winter air. "February is wonderful when it's snowing," said Yui. "Don't you think so, Azunyan?"

"Yeah, it really is. I'm pretty worried about your sister, Mio-sempai, Ritsu-sempai and Mugi-sempai. You think they will be all right regarding the exams?"

"Don't worry about a thing. I will make this fearless prediction: that onee-chan and the others will be admitted to JWU easily. Onee-chan probably punched her ticket by now, we're just waiting for confirmation from the others." The two of them caught wind of a shrine. "Oh yeah"

Azusa wanted to know. "A one-hundred prayers shrine?"

"That's right Azunyan, this is the good-old shrine next door. Every time I pass by, when I am not in a rush—note that I said when I am not in a rush—I make a donation of 10 yen." They both tossed 10 yen into the donation box. "I think that's 100 times,"

Azusa raise an eyebrow contemptuously. "Seriously?"

"Let's ring these bad boys." They both did.

"So what will you pray for?"

"I'm hoping that my prediction is true: that they will all be admitted to the same university they put on their career plan, and that they will all graduate together as one. This must be their destiny, and I hope the gods that be do their thing and make it happen."

"I see." Azusa wondered about that statement from Yui. It took her a while to ponder the situation.

Ritsu was the liability of the four of them. She wasn't the brightest of the bunch, but somehow the cramming sessions must have begun to click. Taking a gamble with a pencil would do her no good. Mio was a bit nervous regarding her choices, but was expected to pass if she felt her back was to the wall. Ui's case was only going to be strengthened with a strong test score, and Tsumugi was composed enough to fly past the subjects. It was really Ritsu that had the issues, and everyone was trying to get her to catch up, to keep up, and to stick to the plan.

Azusa turned to the shrine. "Now I know what university I want to go to. It will be Japan Women's University." Azusa was shivering as she put her hands together. "It's a bit cold, though."

Yui smiled. "I know, Azunyan. I know."

She wanted to follow them. She really wanted to follow them. Azusa was loyal, and on that day, she made a commitment to prepare for the same journey her friends were going through right now. Ui was sidetracked with her final preparations for the remaining sections that she could not try the cake after it was finished. The cake was divided evenly in thirds. Azusa put her share in the refrigerator at home, where it would stay for at least one more day. Interesting, Yui downed a good deal of her portion that night, which guaranteed that Azusa was going to be the majority procurer of the chocolaty goodness for Ui.

* * *

The last day of the admission exams came and gone. It was expected that Ritsu, Ui, Mio and Tsumugi didn't have any snags in the remaining subjects on Sunday. All systems go for Monday, February 14. Valentine's Day 2011.

Finally, the chocolate cake was ready, and Azusa held it in a specially-purchased, gift-wrapped box outside the school. She sighed as she watched a couple Sakuragaoka students pass by. This was it. She had to give this to them, and there was no turning back. Azusa played the waiting game.

"I'm getting so nervous," she said to herself, the freezing cold nipping at her nose. Her pulse quickened, and her heart was racing. She, Yui and Nodoka worked very hard on this, and a negative reaction would make all their efforts seem in vain. Azusa did not want to happen. Better for her jump off a tower than to see that come to pass.

Nodoka fell in with her. "Hey Azusa. So your seniors aren't here yet, I take it?"

"No, they're not here yet. And I'm not sure if I should give this to them here. This really is embarrassing..."

"Embarrassing for you? Hmmm." Nodoka pondered the thought for a moment. "I don't think it should be that embarrassing, to be honest with you. You just give them the cake, and that's that. What, is there someone you actually like among the seniors?"

Azusa turned away as Nodoka tilted her head. She couldn't say it. She could not say it. She could not say that she was in love with Ui and that she would be heartbroken if Ui did not like the cake she gave her.

That was the problem. "I can't say it," she thought to herself.

"There is," Nodoka deadpanned.

The truth sent shooting waves of fear up Azusa's spine. "How did you know?"

"Who is it?"

"Uh...Ui-sempai," she mumbled.

"Say that again, I couldn't hear you."

"It's Ui-sempai!" she exclaimed. "Mou!"

"Why her?"

"Because...she is the only one I can trust...and I...like the way she plays her guitar...and the way she touches me and kisses me...feels so good."

The revelations caused Nodoka to fly a few feet back, sending a trail of blood from her nose in its path. She had to grab a tissue. "Oh my. Is that all?"

Azusa's eyes were half-shut as she blushed and smiled. "Yeah, that's all."

Nodoka flew even further, leaving a bigger trail of blood in its wake. "Wow. At least you were being honest," she said, standing up.

"Ui-sempai make me feel like I'm the only one for her, even with the others around."

"Well, does Ui-sempai know?"

Azusa let out a hesitant laugh. "She probably does and would not be surprised if she figured that this was for her. In fact, I think she craves it."

"So you're fine with being a lesbian, am I right."

"Yeah, is there a problem with loving other girls?"

"Unlike the many homophobes polluting this country, I tolerate it, and I embrace it. So it's okay for you and Ui-sempai to be together. I see Mio-sempai and Ritsu-sempai necking each other every so often and I don't get grossed out by the sight of it all."

"Really, Nodoka?"

"Yep. I'm a person of my word. And the Girls Campus is girls-only school, so it's not like these types of relationship are uncommon. I can name you 100 pairs among the first-year, second-year and third-year students that I have observed and recognize."

"Amazing..."

"No joke. For example, there is—"

"Okay, okay, I don't need to hear it, I don't need to hear it! This is reaching the limit where I can turn a blind eye to."

"Sorry, sorry..."

The four of them finally arrived within earshot. Azusa and Nodoka turned around.

"Black sesame pudding sweet buns are a must when it comes to delivering gifts, according to Yui," Ui said to Mio, Tsumugi and Ritsu.

"I have never heard of any place that makes that," said Ritsu. "So this place you're talking about does it?"

"Oh yeah, and I actually went to that place last week with Yui, and I agreed with her; they're pretty good! I got the recipe, and in the future I'm gonna consider making some myself. What about you Mugi? What do you prefer?"

"Well," she replied, "I prefer to go simple and go with hazelnut or chocolate cream buns. Nothing elaborate like what you pointed out."

"So are you going to send it to them?" Nodoka asked Azusa.

She forgot. "Uh...yeah."

"The simple stuff is sometimes the best," Ui said to Mugi.

"Miss Akiyama!" exclaimed a freshman from the Mio Fan Club running over to her. "I made this for you."

"Ah, th-thanks," she said, accepting the gift.

Ui tossed a coin in the air and caught it. "Looks pretty big."

"When you know how to sing," said Ritsu, "you get your just desserts. And they are big enough to share with everyone."

Mio dealt Ritsu a headbump. "Knock it off!"

"She's blushing!" Another one. "Owww!"

Nodoka called the question. "Hey, are you gonna do it?" Azusa wasn't so confident if she could.

* * *

Back at Class 2-1, Azusa's level of depression started to rise little by little. "Hey, you can always give your chocolate to me," Yui said. "If onee-chan snoozes, she loses, and you will be mine for eternity!"

Azusa stuck her tongue out. "As if I'm gonna let you do that! You already ate your share!"

"It's already lunchtime," Nodoka said, "and Yui, everyone else has already given theirs by now. When you keep on forgetting, you pay the price, Azusa."

"Be nice, Nodoka-chan." Azusa looked down on the box she was holding with a frown. "Anyway, you should go ahead and present it to the others at the meeting. That would be the best option."

"Logically, it would be, but it would be possible that all the members already received something. And I would think that Mio-sempai's already got 50 pounds of it from her Fan Club. This also reminds me...Suzuki-sempai is tapping me to be the next president of the club. Since no one else wanted the job, I decided to take the position in the spring. So now I have three organizations I am a member of: the Council, the Light Music Club and the Mio Fan Club."

"I see."

Nodoka went on while checking her messages on her mobile. "They could be eating them right now by the time Azusa heads down there. And they could be sick and tired of it by the time the day is through.

"You might be right, Nodoka-chan. That would not be good."

Azusa disagreed. "Guys, they would never eat that much chocolate at once. There is no way it's going to happen."

"The bottom line is this, Miss Azusa Nakano: the sooner you deliver that bad boy, the better. Got it?"

"Believe in yourself, Azunyan!" Yui said, pumping her fists. "I'm sure they will all like it. I believe in you! And remember, I am your safety net."

Azusa blinked. "No you're not; you're just Ui-sempai's greedy younger sister!"

Yui frowned. "Ehhhh? That's not nice...I was only trying to help!"

"You're overdoing it. But I hope they all do." In the background, Roseanne Cash's "The Wheel" was playing.

"I wonder who I should give my share to," Nodoka asked the two of them.

"Who will be it?" Azusa asked.

"Mio-sempai. As a bass player, she is the best the school has."

"So you're just going to add to the pile she is expected to have."

"That's correct."

"Well, it looks like I know who I'm going to give mine's to. She needs this."

Yui checked her bag for something. She found a box. "I decided to save a portion of the chocolate for onee-chan."

"Oh thank God. I thought you were going to shut us all out and take it for yourself."

Class 3-2 was bustling with activity as students exchanged the sweet stuff. "There they go," Chika Nojima said to Mifuyu Matsumoto as they returned from chatting with the others. "Faith, here's the Light Music Club, getting the edible plaudits. What say you, Mifuyu-chan?"

"My thoughts exactly," she replied with the straightness of an arrow as they saw Ichigo Wakaouji talk with Azusa, Yui and Nodoka.

She called the two of them out. "Hey guys, Mio and the others are in the faculty office downstairs."

"Th-thank you!" they all said with a bow.

The three of them made their way down the stairs. "That was close," Nodoka said.

"I was surprised that they knew we were associated with them." Yui said. "We must be famous."

"Almost famous," Azusa corrected her as she opened the door.

"Are they there?" Nodoka asked.

"Yes, they are."

Miss Sawako went over the news regarding their admissions exams results. "According to the results, Ui has been admitted to her third-choice university, which is Kwansei Gakuin, and Ritsu, you were admitted to your third choice as well, which was Ritsumeikan." Ritsu's top two were JWU and Waseda. "Some more news: Mio-chan and Mugi-chan were also accepted up to their second-choice university. Their second choices were, respectively, Waseda and Keio. In conclusion, you guys only do well when you need to."

Ui flashed a victory sign. "And the wheel goes round and round."

"She wasn't complimenting us, by the way," Ritsu said, trying to put on a straight face.

"All that's left is the first choice, which you guys tested for together. Ui already has a recommendation for JWU, but that won't guarantee that she gets in. Do you know when they will announce it?"

"I believe it's on the 16th," Mio said.

"That's correct. Therefore, I hope you all get accepted to JWU, because you deserve to be there."

"Yes, ma'am!" they all said.

"Miss Sawako," Yui said, "I hope the bells in this school peal loudly if that is true."

"I'm sure they will. So, that means you are all done with all the exams, right?" she asked the four seniors.

"Yes, ma'am!" they chorused.

"You've worked real hard up to this point, but now you can start the countdown to graduation."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"At ease. All right, we'll see you." And the four of them went on their way.

Azusa internalized the word. "Graduation..." The thought of the four seniors leaving her proved to be difficult to bear. It was a tough pill to swallow, but she had to swallow it.

"Is something wrong?" Yui asked her.

"O-Oh, nothing." But they* knew better.

Mugi flagged her down. "Oh, Azusa-chan, it's you!"

Azusa flinched, a sweating young lass. Boy was she in for it now.

Ui waved at her as the mistresses were out. "Hey, hey, hey!" She walked over. "What's up? Did you need something?"

Yui prodded her on. "Well, the thing is..."

Nodoka got impatient. "Azusa, do it, hurry!"

She gave Mio her box. "Here. I made this for you!"

"Is this another one for me?" she asked, accepting her gift.

"Happy Valentine's Day!"

"Thank you, thank you, you're far too kind."

Nodoka produced a couple more packages as Miss Sawako looked over from her desk. "I made one for your class."

"Thank you," Ritsu said, accepting Nodoka's gift, a small orange box with a yellow ribbon. "A bit small, though."

"Still cute-looking, you have to admit," Tsumugi added, accepting hers from Nodoka.

That left Azusa. Nodoka could not believe her shyness. "Come on, it's your turn. Do it already."

"Y...yeah..." This was something that was difficult for her to do.

"I see, you made something for us as well?" Mio asked her.

"Are you serious?" Ui exclaimed, causing Azusa to break out in a sweat. "Azunyan's chocolate? I want some!"

Azusa had to think of an escape plan. "Uh...um..." She knew that once she gave her gift away, God knows what they were going to do to her. They looked on: anticipating, waiting, hoping, praying. She couldn't do it. "Um...I need to go to the restroom."

"Hey, where are you going!" Nodoka said, chasing her. "Azusa! Come back!"

Yui also gave chase. "Azunyan, that's not being nice to onee-chan; get back here!"

"Did we scare her off?" Ui said to the others as Miss Sawako fell in with them.

The teacher knew what was up. "You're all in love with each other, baby!" The news startled the four.

"What the fuck; how would you know, Sawa-chan?" Ritsu exclaimed.

Mio was similarly surprised. "Are you serious?"

Rumor has it that Miss Sawako possesses a huge plethora of yuri-oriented light novels in her bedroom and living room.

Nodoka and Yui searched for the shy twin-twintailed one. "Azusa! Where are you?" They found her in the locker room, still holding on to the package. The cool of the afternoon frost laid a look of winter's bitter melancholy across her desperate face. "Azusa. You can run, but you can't hide from us."

Yui knew that it wouldn't be right for her to exercise Plan B, even if it was an option. "Azunyan, why do you make it hard for yourself?"

"You don't need to be embarrassed to do this. It's not a hard thing to do. Just give it to them and that's it."

"That's not the issue here, Nodoka," Azusa said. "It's not the issue at all."

"What is the issue, then? You can tell us. We got your back."

"It's the fact that they will be graduating soon. They'll be gone. I can't give this to them. I don't think it's right." The music room was empty, with a picture of Ton-chan on the whiteboard as the real Ton-chan continued his swim."

Nodoka crossed her arms, then went over and petted her head. "Azusa. I know they're graduating, and I still give them their present without any problems. Just because they are graduating doesn't mean that you should not do your part." The snow began to fall again. "But we do understand if you feel it is not right to do this."

The flakes fell down, the cascading droplets of solid water descending on the trees, the bushes, the flowers, the pavement, and the bust of the founder.

Back inside the hall, Yui, Azusa and Nodoka watched the snow continue to fall down. Nodoka bid her farewell. "Time for me to meet with the Council. The seniors should all be there today, so I can give them my gift. And I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"See you, Nodoka-chan," Yui said to her, waving her off.

Azusa nodded. "Bye."

Yui looked at her with a gleam in her eye. "Azunyan, you okay?"

"Yeah."

A voice called out. "Azusa!" It was Nodoka returning, placing reassuring hands on her shoulders. "And don't forget to give them your chocolate. It's the least you can do."

"Got it."

Yui decided that it was Plan A or bust. "Believe in yourself, Azunyan. I don't want your chocolate anymore."

Nodoka punched the air. "Fight-o!"

"Yeah!" the others said.

"Now if you excuse me, I'll be on my way." And she took off. The others in the hall heard.

Azunyan made the long trek up the stairs to the music room. As she made her way to the door, she could feel her pulse quickening.

_Thump-thump...thump-thump...thump-thump..._

_Thump-thump...thump-thump...thump-thump..._

_Thump-thump...thump-thump...thump-thump..._

That was the sound of her heartbeat, racing as she blushed. "No turning back now, give me strength Lord!" Azusa said as she opened the door.

"Ouch!" The door ended up bumping into Ui.

"U...Ui-sempai? Are you all right? And why are you standing there?"

"I felt your presence as you made your way up the stairs. You know me, I can even sense you beginning your journey up. You have to be careful next time, Azunyan, not to bump into people like that."

"Sorry about that."

"Hey Azusa!" Ritsu said to her in the back, where Tsumugi was serving tea near Ton-chan.

Mio spotted her. "There you are."

"This is the finest tea available from Paradiso," Mugi said, handing Azusa her pink kitty cup as she took her seat.

"I see."

"And it smells real good."

"By that way, that remind me," Ritsu said while twirling one of her drumsticks, "what on the menu today."

"Sorry, didn't bring anything today because of the chocolate coming in from all corners of the campus."

"Oh, booo. Party foul."

"But I think Azusa-chan here brought us something. Did you have something for us?"

Azusa face broke out in a sweat. "H...How the hell did you know?"

"We can see it in your face, sunshine," Ritsu said with an old man's grin. They all looked at Miss Sawako's empty seat. "Sawa-chan also told me to tell you to leave some for her."

"Crap," Azusa thought. "I have to split this chocolate five ways!" It couldn't be helped. She had to give it up. She was a trapped kitty in the back of the room who could do nothing wrong from handing over what she made with Yui and Nodoka.

It was a double-layered cake with chocolate cream frosting in the middle and a chocolate meringue coating, and to be honest, it was perfect when combined with a shot of espresso. "Oh, this is love, my love!" Ui said, beaming. "This is like the recipe I use, only better."

"Quiet. I had Yui help me out," Azusa said, still blushing.

"I see what you did there." Ui pointed to the sky and looked upwards. "Good work, Yui."

"This is up to par with what is served at Paradiso," Mugi added, savoring her piece.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"I had Yui write a list of the ingredients and gave her directions on how to do it, but she did it better than me for once," Ui explained.

Ritsu came in closer. "Hey Azusa, since it's a chocolate cake, is this..."

"Eh? Well, it's like, you know..." Azusa was trying to find the words. "t...to show my appreciation to everyone about everything..."

Her sly eyes told no tales. "Oh yeah, my dear? Appreciation?"

"No it's not," Ui said. "But I'll hold off on jumping to conclusions. I'll give you this in return." She gave Azusa a box of Ferrero Rochers. "Bought this from a boutique shop near 10GIA."

"Holy friggin' crap...this is big."

"This would be the return gift for White Day, but I am handing it to you in advance so I won't have to worry about it anymore. At least not till next year."

"Damn."

"Hey, big spender," Ritsu added with a sleazebag expression, "you have to give this ON White Day, not now." Ton-chan took a rest from his swim.

"All right."

"Thank you for the cake!" Mio, Ui, Mugi and Ritsu said to Azusa. They wrapped two slices for Miss Sawako.

Azusa took a bow. "You're welcome."

Ui looked at the door. "Miss Sawako should be coming up any time soon." The snow continued to fall outside, now in droves. Thankfully, there was no wind.

"Oh, that reminds me," Mio said to Azusa.

"Yes?"

"Take a look outside. It's snowing."

"It's really coming down hard," Tsumugi said, watching the flakes fall. One of the windows was patched with black construction paper because it was broken and had to be repaired.

Azusa went to the window. "You're right."

"Everything is now white already. It's beautiful."

"Let me take a look," Ritsu said, peering over her kouhai's shoulder. "Oooh, you are absolutely right! Maybe we should head down there and have a snowball fight or something. Take a look at that truck down on the street. It's full of it in the back."

"You're right."

Tsumugi was fired up. "I want to see it too!"

Mio joining Mugi in seeing the snow fall. "M...Me too!"

"Let's all take a look!" Ui wanted to take a look and peered from under. "Hello, world of white!"

Ritsu shook her head. "This is getting out of hand. Come on, Ui."

"Damn. Guys, this would be a great place to film a music video or something. It's an awesome scene down there!"

Mugi was mesmerized by the wintry scene outside. "Beautiful."

Ritsu was still in disbelief. "Man, we're just a month and a half into 2011, and it already snowed a lot this year." They watched a student slip on the sidewalk, but maintain her balance. "Look out! Damn, that was close."

Azusa concurred with the close call. "She nearly fell on her ass. Gotta be careful"

"Exactly, Azusa," said Mio. "I mean, loafers on snow are so sli-"

Ritsu interjected. "Don't say it, you fool!"

She was about to say the word 'slippery'. "Oh. Sorry, guys." Bad luck, perhaps.

Ui had to laugh at the statement. And they all did. Girls will be girls, after all.

The iPod was playing the fifth track from AC/DC's "Back In Black" album.

* * *

_"Flying on a free flight_

_Driving all night_

_With my machinery_

_'Cause I, I got the power_

_Any hour_

_To show the man in me_

_I got reputations_

_Blown to pieces_

_With my artillery_

_Whoa ho_

_I'll be guided in_

_We'll be ridin'_

_given what you got to me_

_Don't you struggle_

_Don't you fight_

_Don't you worry_

_'Cause it's your turn tonight_

_Let me put my love into you, babe_

_Let me put my love on the line_

_Let me put my love into you, babe_

_Let me cut your cake with my knife_

_Oh, Like a fever_

_Burning faster_

_You spark the fire in me_

_Crazy feelings_

_Got me reeling_

_They got me raising steam_

_Don't you struggle_

_Don't you fight_

_Don't you worry_

_'Cause it's your turn tonight_

_Yeah_

_Let me put my love into you, babe_

_Let me put my love on the line_

_Let me put my love into you, babe_

_Let me cut your cake with my knife_

_Cut it_

_Let me, let me_

_Oooh_

_Let me put my love into you, babe_

_Let me put my love on the line_

_Let me put my love into you, babe_

_Let me cut your cake with my knife_

_Oh_

_Let me put my love into you, babe_

_Let me put my love on the line_

_Let me put my love into you, babe_

_Let me give it all_

_Let me give it all_

_To you, to you_

_Give it all!"_

* * *

Azusa smiled as she savored the moment she had with her friends. Time was starting to run short, and in two days, the news regarding Japan Women's University would come. Azusa prayed that their wish would come true. "I like this feeling," she said to them while watching the snow come down.

"Hmmm, what could that be?" Ritsu wanted to know.

"I like all five of us spending time together like this."

Ritsu was moved by those words. So was Tsumugi.

Azusa went on. "I mean it's been cold all day. But I don't feel so cold when I'm with you guys. It's not just the tea Mugi-sempai bring that warms me up. You warm me up. You warm my soul."

Mio took stock in the compliments from her beloved kouhai.

"And Ton-chan, too," Azusa said. He was watching the girls look at the window. This feeling of happiness was something she didn't want to let go at all, even though at some point down the road, she needed to if only for a moment. Ui fell into Azusa's arms, drunk in the sweetness of her lover's words. "Ui-sempai?"

Ui held Azusa's hand lovingly. "Azunyan, you don't know how much those words mean to me. It's like you're my guardian angel."

"R...Really?"

"You're our guardian angel. And you warm us up, too." Of course, it also helped that there was a heater in front of them, but that was beside the point.

"Thank you!"

"It's so warm, I need a group hug!" Ritsu said, glomping her sisterhood of rock as if her life depended on it.

"Oh Ritsu, stop it!" Mio said, laughing.

"Is this warm enough for you guys yet? Come on, speak up!"

Miss Sawako look on with a smile and saw the cake waiting for her on the table. She walked over to the five of them.

Ritsu was the first to notice. "Hey, it's Sawa-chan!"

"I see something good on the table," she said.

"Azunyan made this for you," Ui said to her.

Azusa blushed. "I hope you like it."

Sawako removed the plastic wrap and took a piece. "As I have said many times before, I won't mind if I died here, because this stuff is so good. Good word, Azusa-chan!"

"Thank you, Miss Sawako."

"Yeah, and that snow is a wonderful sight. More tea, Mugi-chan."

The others continued to watch the snow fall as Tsumugi poured Sawako a cup.

* * *

Soon afterwards, the skies cleared, leaving pastel shades of brown, orange and yellow. The snow was still lingering on the gates of many shrines as well as the trees and flowers of the city, the skyscrapers and many monuments.

Stray indentations marking the path well-traveled of a run-of-the-mill commoner could be seen on the sidewalk. They were the marks of a commoner named Azusa Nakano, making a last-ditch visit to the shrine near her house.

"Ten yen times one hundred!" she said, throwing a 1,000 yen bill into the donations box. "There!" And she rung the bell loud and proud, in the hopes that her wish came true. Her wish was that of Mio's, and that of the band: to see the four seniors admitted to Japan Women's University. Azusa clapped her hands together. Once. Twice. And a bow.

"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please! O gods that be, please let our band's wish come true. Please let my seniors attend Japan Women's University together! Give us your strength!" She bowed one more time. "And let us continue smiling until they graduate."

That was Azusa's wish, spoken on behalf of the five of them. She finally left the shrine, her work already completed. She gave it all she could. Now it was up to the gods that be to determine whether or not to make it possible.

Azusa checked her pocket. She still had a stray Ferrero Rocher piece lying in her jacket pocket.

"This is the one Ui-sempai gave me..." Azusa thought she put the candy away. She forgot one. "Here goes nothing."

Unwrapping the foil, Azusa took stock in the sinfulness of a whole roasted hazelnut encased in a thin wafer shell filled with hazelnut cream and covered in milk chocolate and chopped hazelnuts and walnuts. "Mmmm...so sweet. Ui-sempai knows how to treat a woman right." With a spring in her step, she followed the setting sun.

* * *

A lone songbird flew over the Tokyo skies and the Sakuragaoka Girls Campus that morning. It was cold, but it was a clear day. February 16, 2011. An important decision was to be handed down. Many students were relieved that they were accepted to their first-choice schools. Some...not so much. But one thing was for certain: all of the students who took that exam would be accepted at a university somewhere in Japan. A lucky few got accepted to Harvard, Yale, Cambridge, Oxford, UCLA, USC, Stanford, McGill, and other universities around the world. In any case, not a single student failed the admissions exam, which was a rarity. Normally one or two would do so poorly that no school would want them. Not this time. They were all college-bound.

"You guys ready?" Ritsu asked Mio, Tsumugi and Ui.

"Yeah!" they chorused.

"Let's go!" They rose up. Mio was still cowering, her pupils shrunk. "Hey Mio, that was only practice."

"I can't...bear to look...at the news...if only I'd gotten the reading comprehension portion of the test right...!"

"Hey, listen Mio. We don't know if you failed this thing, so you have to ease up, all right?"

"Right." she got up. "Let's be friends even if we are at different schools! Right?"

Ritsu delivered a look of disgust. "Sure thing, sugar. But check the damn board before you say that, okay? I am breaking up with you if you go home without doing the simplest of things and checking the board!"

"Ehhhh? Don't break up with me, Ritsu! I love you, baby!"

"Oh boy, this is rich," Ui said to Mugi, whose face was covered in vulcan salutes.

"Here were go. Ready, and...go!"

They maneuvered their way to the front in the most unorthodox of fashions. Finally, they got to the front.

When they looked up...they jumped in the air. They had done it!

"HOORAY!" Ritsu exclaimed. "We're going to Japan Women's University!"

"Hallelujah!" Tsumugi shouted.

Mio was relieved. "Thank God!" She had aced the other sections, which offset the reading comprehension score.

"Someone ring the bells!" Ui screamed, pointing to a man at the campus campanile. He pressed a button and the campanile rung its bells for 10 minutes. A young boy on his bike heard the news from the entrance and make the trek down the expressway towards Bunkyo Ward.

Nodoka Manabe was back at Class 2-1, writing her next batch of anecdotes.

She saw Yui slumping over her cell phone. Then she saw Azusa in disbelief over her cell.

"Uh oh," she said. Then she got a message from Mio. "I got a message here. Is this what I think it is?"

Azusa turned to her in disbelief. She nodded and was laughing.

Nodoka checked the message. Four sakuras. Ui and Mugi got the highest scores for admission, and Ritsu actually got a higher score in the reading comprehension section that Mio.

And for the first time in a while, Nodoka was enthused. She was not her normal self. "THEY DID IT!" she shouted with her hands in the air, causing all of Class 2-1 to applaud. The class know who Nodoka was referring to. The last-ditch efforts from Yui and Azusa at the shrine paid off. The gods listened, and they put the writing on the wall. Or the board, if one were to be technical.

* * *

The young boy continued on his journey and after a long, grueling ride down the streets, he arrived at the place. "This must be it...2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo Ward," he said. He parked his bike and walked over to the Hyakunenkan building, where a young woman with pink hair was waiting. She was holding a folder stuffed with papers.

"Nate?" she said, calling out to him by his given name.

"It's Near, Ms. Tsukuyomi, but you can call me Nate if you want."

"Sure thing," said Komoe Tsukuyomi to Nate River. "Anyway, did they do it?"

He nodded.

"Looks like these things are going out. Do you want to help me before you go back to work at what you have to do?"

"I'm on down time, so I guess I will."

"Wonderful. Place these on the walls of all of the building where there are ads for all the events going on."

"Yes, Ms. Tsukuyomi."

Nate and Komoe both placed 100 ads all over campus. The ads were a straightforward news notice.

"Attention, attention! Hokago Tea Time is coming to Japan Women's University in April. ARE YOU READY?"

* * *

**END CHAPTER 22**


	23. Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 23:**

**Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution

* * *

**

There wasn't a lot of time remaining in the 2010-11 school year in Japan. And for good reason. March had officially arrived. There were still a few more items of business remaining for the students of Sakuragaoka High School Girls' Campus, but for the most part, the heavy lifting had already been done.

Ui Hirasawa, Mio Akiyama, Tsumugi Kotobuki and Ritsu Tainaka had all been accepted to Japan Women's University and were considering the first classes to take as freshmen there.

Tsumugi was considering a double major: Household Economics and English. Mio looked at Information Science as a viable major. Ritsu wanted to keep it real and decided to major in Japanese, but also pondered the possibility of majoring in Mathematics just for the sake of doing it. As for Ui, she also decided to double-major, going for Household Economics and Child Studies.

The stage was set and the bar was raised high. And everyone in Class 3-2 heard the news and gave the four members of the Light Music Club a round of applause when the news came out on the 16th of February.

Days later at the Hirasawa house, Ui was working on her blog, still all smiles regarding the news. It was a clear day, with few clouds, though it was a bit chilly.

She had the television set to ESPN. The crew from Sunday NFL Countdown were still talking about the Green Bay Packers' 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. Chris Berman and his ilk doing the business. She finished blogging and went downstairs to do some ironing on her blazer, shirt and skirt.

"And as you can see in this final play of the game, Rashard Mendenhall-oh-oh!-oh my!-fumbles the football and with it, the hopes of a city," Berman said on the set back at Bristol, Connecticut.

"You are always told to hold on to the ball in any situation, and this has to be completely inexcusable," Tom Jackson said. "Give credit to Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers for delivering a wonderful performance and bringing the trophy back home."

"With the 2010 NFL season history, we now focus on the upcoming Draft, and who do you like from Mel Kiper's best available?"

"Well, you have to look at Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert. He has a good frame, a quick release, and in 2010, he threw for..."

As Tom went on with the juicy details, Ui took a look at her skirt. No wrinkles, no worries. "So Carolina is looking at Blaine Gabbert as a possible No. 1? Never heard of him." Ui continued to fold her clothes and work on ironing her stockings.

"And who else do you have as a possible No. 1?" Chris asked Tom.

"Auburn tackle Nick Fairley has the size, girth, and agility to succeed at the next level. He runs a 4.5 40', can bench press 610 pounds, and has a high vertical leap of 45". Look for him to impress at the combine..."

"Looks like these stockings are in good shape," Ui said, folding them aside. Her phone rang. "Ricchan it is. Hello, what's up baby girl?"

"Don't 'baby girl' me, Ui; that's Mio's job!"

"I was teasing you."

"I know. When you meet us in a bit at the room, Mugi's got some Pocky and tea on the house. Oh, and since we are inching closer to graduation, do you want to head upstairs to the music room with me later on? All the seniors are not needed to show up today, but I, Mio, and Mugi will. How about it? We got some stuff to take care of."

"You got yourself a deal. See you then."

"Good. I'll let the others know."

Soon afterwards, Ui took a bath, put on her uniform, grabbed her bag and went on her way to the campus, doing a little texting to Yui, who was already there.

Back at the campus, Yui Hirasawa was doing some texting. Nodoka Manabe peered over her shoulder. Also with her was Azusa Nakano, hands in her pockets. "What are you up to, Yui?"

"Oh, Nodoka-chan. I was texting onee-chan to see how she is."

"Ahhh."

"Onee-chan has a lot to do for tomorrow."

"She does, does she?"

"Tomorrow?" Azusa could only wonder what that meant. Graduation day.

"She needs to iron her uniform and buy new stockings, even though the stocking look all right," Yui explained.

Nodoka nodded. "I see." She sighed. "Man, I can't believe that our seniors are gonna be gone. They have represented our school very well. Now the three of us will be among those who will take the lead next April."

Azusa knew that her time with the seniors was starting to dwindle down. To see them succeed and finally get accepted to the JWU was an immense honor. All the hard work, all the studying, and all the prayers for divine intervention—any form of divine intervention they could get—were paying off. She chose to look through the window, looking at the students conversing with one another and the traffic up the street, keeping in mind everything that happened then and will happen soon.

Something caught her eye. "Ah!"

"What is it, Azusa?" Nodoka asked her.

Yui wanted to know, too. "Azunyan?"

"She is here."

The two of them turned around. Ui made the journey back, fleet of feet.

* * *

Back at the music room, it was time for the usuals at the morning club meeting. They were becoming a luxury now, these occasions were. But the tea continued to flow.

Ui opened the door and made another resounding entrance. "Hey guys, it's ya girl Ui, Sakuragaoka REPRESENT-O!"

"There's the Special One that is not Jose Mourinho," Ritsu said, tossing a couple drumsticks in the air before catching it and twirling them around like miniature batons. "What's up, Ui?"

"Morning," Mio said to her.

"You look like you're ready to take on the world," Tsumugi said.

"I'm always ready to take on the world. What about you guys?"

"'Taking on the World' is my middle name, and don't you forget it!" Ritsu said, pointing at Ui with her drumstick.

"I thought it was 'Cracker', Ricchan."

"Fool! Do not make fun of my name, you unbeliever."

"Easy there, tomboy, I tease in peace."

"Ah. At ease, then."

Ui set her guitar down and had a seat. "Morning tea. Always a winner. Accept no imitations."

"This some of the finest chamomile, and is organic," Tsumugi said, pouring her a cup.

Ui took a whiff, and then a sip. "Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!"

"I won! So what do I get as a prize?" Ui gave Mugi a peck on the cheek, causing her face to blush and her nose to break out again. "Oh...oh my...I need a tissue." She took one from box near Ton-chan and plugged her nostrils.

"Is she always like this?" she asked Ritsu while Mugi laid her head on a pair of hands placed together.

"She's a half-gaijin lesbo; what do you expect?"

Mio groaned, slapping her forehead. "Oh brother."

Ui grabbed a stick of Pocky from a bunch in a jar. "I love living the life as I want it to be lived. This is an example of the previous sentence I said earlier."

"You know something?" Mio said to the others. "I feel we have something more important to do."

"In any case, regardless of what we do, tomorrow is the graduation ceremony. And with it, our final meeting of the light music club."

Ritsu continued to twirl one of her sticks. "It's as if everything happened yesterday, no? One day you're a freshman. The next day, you're set to graduate and prepare for life as a college freshman at JWU. A crazy world we live in."

"Very true, very true," said Mio, having another sip of tea. "And sorry about your team losing the Super Bowl."

"I was hoping the Steelers would win that game. My name, plus Pittsburgh, equals Ritsuburgh. I had 500 yen riding on that thing. And I guess I gotta be happy for Ui here, because the pride of UI-sconsin brought the Lombardi back to its original home. Lucky bitch."

Ui thumped her chest before munching on another stick of Pocky like a woodchuck. "Go Pack Go!"

Ritsu raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"Woodchuck mode. I am in Yui mode, testing how much of a Pocky stick I can in 10 seconds while munching like my sister."

"Yui mode again?"

"Yes, Yui mode."

"Ohhhh my. Hope you don't go off the walls when we head to JWU."

Mugi grabbed a stick and measured how much she could consume in 10 seconds. "Ui, I challenge you!"

"Let's roll, princess."

* * *

Ritsu got the contest started. "On your mark...get set...GO!"

And they were off. Ui won, but barely.

"You didn't choke, did you?" Mio asked her.

She shook her head. "Uh-uh."

A sound.

_Ding-dong-ding-dong..._

_Ding-dong-ding-dong..._

The Westminster chimes rang from the campanile. "Third period on the way, then," Ui said to the others.

"Exactly," Mio nodded.

"Well bloody friggin' hell," Ritsu said, bored as Haruhi Suzumiya. "What the fuck should we do, eh ladies? We don't need to show up to class; Miss Sawako told us we could relax here...what is there to friggin' do?"

Ui frowned. "And I didn't bring my laptop with me, so I can't watch any randomness on YouTube, either. Since you're the club president, I believe you had something in mind when you called us here."

"Nope, I didn't."

"You're kidding me."

Mio rolled her eyes. "I knew it. I knew it all along."

"Bugger this; let's go ahead and play some music. How about it?"

Tsumugi was all in. "Oh yeah, great idea!"

"I don't think so," said Mio. "There are classes going on right now and it wouldn't be right to bother them. We have to wait until after class."

"No other choice, I suppose," Ui said in-between sips and another munch of the Pocky.

* * *

The wind blew across the branches of the sakura trees and their yet-to-open buds. Soon, they would triumphantly spring open and bloom forth all over campus.

Ritsu was reading the latest edition of Rolling Stone magazine while Ui separated the tables a little. "It's really nice and warm today."

"Excuse me for a moment," said UI, reaching over from under a stretching Ritsu.

"Should we go somewhere?" the drummer asked the others.

"I think we can just stay here," Mugi replied.

"And, what are you doing, Ui?"

"What does it look like? I'm putting my hands in places that are too hot for me to say."

"Oh no."

"Well," said Mio, who was clearly exasperated at her friends' collective inactivity, "we still don't know what to do. There's the problem."

Ui found a piece of paper on the floor. "Here it is: let's have a big showdown, oh ladies of the light music club!"

"Huh?" the others asked.

"This is a game that Yui taught me, and she got it from someone who got it from someone who got it from someone," Ui explained, drawing circles and lines on the paper with a red marker. "It is also known as something you should be all familiar with."

"Is that Sugoroku?" Mio asked.

"Here we go again with our country's gaudy, uber-plagiarized rendition of snakes and ladders," Ritsu moaned dejectedly. She'd seen it all before, played it all before, and lost every game she took part in. Tsumugi, naturally, was captive and wanted to take part.

Ui was fired up as she continued to work on the board. "But this is not just any old Sugoroku, mind. Ladies, this is the Light Music Club's version of Sugoroku!"

"The Light Music Club Sugoroku?" Tsumugi asked.

"In saying that, we put events and things to do inside the circles, right?" Mio asked Ui.

"Yes, but I wonder what I should put? Actually, I do know, but I'm not telling."

Ritsu and Mugi tried to put on a straight face. "You can at least tell us; it won't hurt," Mio said to her.

Tsumugi was the first to add a suggestion to the mix. "Okay then, how about singing or playing music?"

"Return back to start!" Ritsu replied defiantly.

"If you mess up an audition, you lose three turns," Tsumugi added. Ui jotted them down.

"Damn, this Sugoroku is sounding pretty harsh," Mio said.

Ui continued to fill out the bubbles. "Let's also add here...eating snacks, drinking tea and eating candy. There!"

"This sure has the feel of the Light Music Club Sugoroku, all right," Mio deadpanned monotonously. She took the paper. "Anyway, this paper is..." She looked from under. "The club application form? Damn. We still had that?"

"Is there a goal?" Ritsu asked Ui.

"Sorry, I didn't put any room for one."

"Oh my fucking God!" She slumped over in disgust. "Idiot! How the hell are we gonna play this thing without one?"

"I'm so sorry. There goes this idea. Well, what are we supposed to do, then?"

"Oh boy." After a while, she jumped to her feet. "I know something!"

"What's that?"

"This is what we'll do. Follow me."

Back at Class 3-2, Ritsu took some manga tankoubon from under her desk and placed it on the tabletop. "Tainaka family precept No. 854: It is always a good idea to clean up after yourself, no matter where you are or what you do. Am I right, Mugi?"

"If you say so, Miss Club President!" Mugi replied.

Mio was suspicious. "You still haven't taken that stuff home?"

"For a reason."

The clock rang 11:05 a.m. Japan Standard Time. The lunch hour was looming. Ritsu was getting a giggle or two from her manga inside Class 3-2, while Mio and Mugi stood on the other side of the classroom, wondering if their friend had lost it. Eventually, she put them in her bag.

"The memories live on forever," Mio said to her blonde keyboarding partner. "This may be our classroom, but for some reason unknown to me, it now it feels different."

"I know, right? It really feels like it was ours."

Ui took out numerous bits and pieces of paper from her desk. "What's all that paper, Ui?" Mugi and Mio wanted to know.

"Oh, this? These are the notes you passed to me during class over the course of the entire year. Here's one." She presented an image of a parfait illustrated by Ritsu.

"I guess you could say we still had a bit of youth in us. Aren't you embarrassed by all of this, Ricchan?"

"Shut up, cheerful! And besides, you were the one who drew that!"

"I will admit; I'm not a very good illustrator. Thankfully, that's not what I'm going to major in when we get there."

Tsumugi eyes beamed. "Is it all right if I have them all?"

Ritsu was stunned to hear of such a move. "Huh?"

Ui was more than happy to offer them "All yours, Milady."

Tsumugi was grateful as ever. "Thank you so very much!" They would all be placed in a scrapbook commemorating the three years the light music club was together.

Ui continued to scour the corners of her desk. "Oh my, there's an old orange peel in here."

Ritsu groaned. "Throw it away."

Jun Suzuki saw the four of them. "Hey guys."

Ui noticed her with the others. "Jun-chan! Hello. Did you come to help us out with clearing our desks?"

"So you guys came here to do that."

"You didn't want to join us?"

"Had to organize the jazz club and student council rooms. Did double duty."

They all gasped, impressed.

"It seems like she is ready to go, like she's already a graduate." Jun got accepted to Keio University in Minato Ward.

Jun produced a few sheets of paper stapled together. "And once that is done, I have to go over the speech for tomorrow one last time."

"Way to be on it, way to be on it," Ui said to her. She had to be. It was one of *her last duties as the outgoing student council president.

* * *

Back at the faculty office, Miss Sawako was going over the documentation as she sipped on her coffee.

"Hmmm. Well," she said to Jun, "this looks like it's a go."

"Thank you, Miss Sawako."

"Hey Miss Sawako, how about you read it?" Ui asked her beloved teacher.

"This is the duty of the student council president," Sawako said. She turned to Jun. "Anyway, if I were to add one thing, it would be, 'Thank you, Miss Sawako Yamanaka.'"

"Come on, Miss Sawako, how about you read it?" Ui pouted while Mio, Mugi and Ritsu were grinning. "Awww."

Jun had to decline "I will respectfully decline on the offer, thank you very much."

Sawako still pondered the possibility before her. "Awww, but everyone would be crying."

"Well, only you would," Ritsu said, "to be honest with you."

She handed it back to Jun. "Go ahead and hand this to the vice principal."

"Yes, ma'am."

She turned to the others. "All right, with that out of the way, what was it that you guys wanted?"

"Nothing in particular," Ui said. "Actually, we wanted you to read the speech, but I guess it couldn't be done."

"Oh boy. Well, I suppose it feels good to have plenty of down time before graduation." They were beaming.

"You should head over upstairs for tea with us, Miss Sawako."

She patted a pile of binders and books on her desk. "Unfortunately, I still have a lot of things to look over before the big day tomorrow."

"We understand."

"And you should. This is my first time seeing my students off from graduation, so it's a very important day for me as well."

"I see." Mio, Mugi, Ritsu and Ui looked at each other, coming to terms with the fact: their time with Miss Sawako was drawing to a close. A bittersweet moment, but it was what it was.

Ui went on, offering the bags of books and other memorabilia. "Hey Miss Sawako, after you're done with that, do you want to help us carry our stuff?"

Sawako had a look of disappointment. "Unlike you guys, I don't have that kind of free time."

Ritsu prodded her on. "Oh come on, Sawa-chan; we know you're more than capable of doin' it, and doin' it, and doin' it, wow!"

"I represent Queens; she was raised out in Brooklyn," Mio added.

"Ah, an LL Cool J reference," said Mugi.

Sawako turned around. "You guys can carry them yourselves; they are not that heavy!"

"Sawa-chan's a meanie!" Ritsu said as they waited outside the vice-principal's office.

"We have to be quiet because there are other people in class," Mio reminded her.

"Right."

"Couldn't be helped," Ui said to them.

Tsumugi was all ears. "Where to next: the classroom or the clubroom?"

"The Diet in my head is still debating that question."

"Thank you very much," Jun said to the vice-principal before leaving.

"You done, Jun-chan?" Ui asked her.

"Yes, I am. I'm gonna go back to the student council room and snack on some donuts with the other denizens there."

"See you." And Jun took off.

Jun brought her laptop and a box of the All-Star Pack, which was consumed for the most part by the council, save for a few donuts remaining, all chocolate or chocolate glazed. As she turned on her laptop, she proceeded to do some blogging, while previewing the first courses she wanted to take at Keio.

The girls followed. "Excuse us!" Ui said.

"Oh, so you decided to come down here."

"Can I get one?"

"Uh, sure." The four members grabbed a donut each. "Rest in peace, All-Star Pack."

"Anyway, it would be boring for us if we went back to Keion Headquarters," explained Ui, munching.

"I see." She went back to previewing her courses.

"This place feels new for some reason,' Ritsu said to the others pacing around.

Mugi agreed. "Mmm-hmmm. It really does feel different. Probably because we don't go here often."

"Actually you do," said Jun, typing before making eyes contact. "The last time you did was two weeks ago, when you wanted to get some study material for the admissions exams."

"But this just felt like the perfect to say it," Ritsu replied as Ui continued to look around.

"That's what she said," Mugi added.

"It's not like I don't know what you mean," Mio said to both of them, "but still..."

Ui found a red book that was tilted and was not positioned correctly. It was their yearbook. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she elected to take it out and read it, flipping through the pages. She stumbled on a picture of Jun at work with the Council. "Hello, world!"

"What is?" "Check this out, Ricchan."

"Whoa! Is that a marriage interview picture?" the drummer asked.

Jun placed a palm on her forehead. "No, that's a picture of me at work with the others on the council. We do this every year."

"I've never seen Jun blush this much before," Mio thought as Jun twiddled her hair. "It's a wonderful sight. She coming to terms with it all."

Ui was captive. "This is awesome stuff, Jun-chan! You'll go down in history as the Student Council President of Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus!"

"One of them," she corrected her.

Ritsu took a closer look. "But it does look like a marriage interview picture, no? It really does."

Ui concurred. "Oh yeah." She looked at Jun.

"What?" she asked.

She walked over. "Is it okay if I tie my hair back in short twin tails again for a little bit?" Ui did so. "Hi, my name is Ui Hirasawa, your Student Council President for the 2010-11 school year and I approve of this hairdo."

"Which makes you look like a puppy?" Jun said.

"Don't start that again, Jun-chan."

"I'm actually not the Student Council President anymore. Nodoka Manabe is. I've already groomed her for the position, and she is more than ready to take over."

"Yui's best friend..." Ui undid her short twin tails and put her clips back on. "Wow."

"But regardless of the situation," said a reassuring Ritsu who placed a hand on Jun's shoulder, "in our eyes, you'll always feel like one."

"What the heck do you mean, Ritsu?"

"Everything, sunshine. You've got that kind of aura to you. When you walk in the room, all the attention comes your way."

"Oh, quit teasing me, you." Mio smiled. Ritsu was always like that: overdoing the compliments, albeit they were well-deserved.

Ui took her leave with the others. "We'll see you later, Jun-chan! Thanks for everything!"

"See you tomorrow," Ritsu said.

Mio saw her off. "See you."

"Thanks for your time," said Tsumugi, closing the door.

"All right, take care, you guys." Jun continued to preview the courses she would take in the spring at Keio. She sighed as she looked at the archives in front of her and giggled. Her work was done here. And college life was going to be difficult, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.

* * *

12:37 p.m. Japan Standard Time. Less than 20 hours to go until graduation day. Time for the lunch hour. Peering from a corner in "a master is out" mode outside the co-op, the four girls went back to business doing god-knows-what to god-knows-who in god-knows-where.

"Ricchan, you ready?" Ui said.

"Let's do it. Ui, you go first."

"Hold the phone; I hear some conversation down there."

Nodoka and Azusa went on a jog in their track suits. "Yui said to go on without because she had some business to take care of," Nodoka said to Azusa.

"Got it."

Ui gave her a glomp. "Azunyan!"

"Gyaah! Why here?"

"Darling, you came at just the right time!"

"Why are you still here?" Azusa asked her.

"Because I was meant to be with you, and vice-versa."

"Eh?" Her heart began to beat as she felt the caress of Ui's lustful touch.

Azusa was so naive. Ui drew comfort from Ritsu as they both fell to the floor, Ui opportunistically fondling her ladyfriend's bust in their embrace as she lay on top of her "Oh my Ricchan, Azunyan is betraying the love I gave for her and only her!"

Ritsu gave Ui a kiss of sympathy. "How could life be so cruel? My love, do not fret, for I am still here to give it to you."

"Hey, get your lecherous hands off my Ritsu!" Mio exclaimed.

"Mou!" Frustrated, Azusa grabbed Ui and pinned her against the wall. "Quit worrying me, damn you." Her tongue pierced through Ui's surrendering defenses as they both shared a long kiss. Sensing an opening, Ui let out a moan, partially unzipped Azusa's jacket and let her hands crawl up her gym uniform shirt. As her hands they felt the curves of her body, Azusa mewed while her skin began to sweat under hitched gasps and gesticulations. The twintailed kouhai ran her fingers through her sempai's auburn hair, smelling, savoring, and tasting every tasty tidbit. Her legs and thighs were tightly wrapped around Ui's, as if they wanted to be.

Some were watching the post-Valentine's Day love scene from a distance and were too embarrassed to watch. Tsumugi had Vulcan salutes on her cheeks as her breathing got pronounced, and that spot underneath her skirt was getting damp again. Mio's face was rosy and so was Nodoka's. The new student council president cleared her throat and turned away.

After 10 minutes, Ui zipped Azusa jacket back up. "So, what do you want?" Azusa asked Ritsu.

She and Ui clasped their hands in prayer, bowing. "Well, we were wondering if you would be so kind as to buy us some bread."

"Eh?"

"We didn't bring any lunch," Ui explained. "Hence, we were wondering if you could help us out." The co-op had sweet bean buns, cream buns, croquette sandwiches and other delectable items for consumption.

"How about you buy it yourself?"

Ritsu and Ui put their fingers together. "I have come to this conclusion," Ui concluded. "It's strange for seniors like us to be at school like this. And I put all my change in my piggy bank before I got here, so no tengo dinero, mi amor."

"What's with the gringo Spanish?" she exclaimed.

"Fine, I can't let my girlfriend down like this (I can't believe I'm saying that word), nor can I let my other sempai down. This is on me."

"Thank you!" they chorused. Tsumugi didn't bring any money, either, which was a shame.

"So, which bread do you want?"

"A croquette sandwich and melon bread!" Ritsu beamed.

"A cream bun and a cheese roll for me!" Ui exclaimed. "Mio-chan, Mugi-chan, what about you guys?"

"I'll take the three-colored sandwich," Mio said.

"Same here," said Mugi.

The good thing was that Mr. and Mrs. Nakano gave Azusa enough of an allowance to pay for all of them and Jun. Of course, Jun was living off the donuts she was snacking on. And she brought her own lunch.

The same was for Nodoka, though her budget was smaller. She offered to take some slack off her classmate with the bunches. "I'll buy Mio-sempai and Mugi-sempai's lunches."

"Th-Thank you, Nodoka," Mio said.

"We appreciate it," Mugi added.

Azusa purchased a golden chocolate roll for good measure. After Nodoka saw them off, the five of them went back to the music room for lunch. Tsumugi did bring tea as their beverage, and there was plenty to go around. "So this is what Jun-sempai likes to snack on, huh?" Ritsu asked the others, who were astounded.

"Jun-chan likes to snack on this when she gets a chance," said Ui. "This is the elusive [sic] golden chocolate bread. I see her eat this every week, along with her donuts."

"But what makes this treasure good as gold?" Tsumugi wondered, stroking her chin.

"This couldn't be your first time eating this thing, right?" Azusa asked them.

"No, it is," Mio replied. "And I am impressed that you were able to buy this bad boy."

"Well, I should thank my mom and dad for giving me a big allowance because I did well on my recent exams. Anyway, I found this thing hiding in a corner, and I thought, well, I might as well buy it while I have the chance. And here it is."

Ritsu gave it a poke. "Really? How could something this big be hiding away from eyeshot? So fluffy, so sweet, and so wonderful."

"Let's open this this thing." Ui did the honors with little twist and tear. Then she divided the roll in six equal sections with Mugi's cake knife.

"Bon appetit!" they all said, grabbing a slice and diving right in.

Ritsu was beaming. "So yummy; I love it!"

So was Mio. "There is chocolate cream everywhere! This is a true chocoholic's paradise!"

"Oh happy da~~~y!" Tsumugi sang.

Ui was smacking her lips. "Mmm-hmmm-hmmm, ladies and Ton-chan, this is a winner by T-K-O! And you know something? I really wanted to try this out before I got the heck on outta here! This is fantastically scrump-diddly-umptious! A dream come true! A present as sweet and rich as the angel that gave it to us! Thank you, Azunyan!"

"You're welcome, dearest Ui-sempai and everyone," she replied with a nod.

She got up. "Well then, I'm gonna be on my way."

"Hold on, my little kitty; we're not done yet with you!" She handed Azusa the remaining slice in a package. "Take this. Hand it to Nodoka and Yui for us. They need to sample this wonderful creation, too."

"A...All right."

"See you." A kiss and she saw Azusa off.

"How many times is Ui-sempai going to kiss me before she graduates?" Azusa thought to herself, walking down the hall, holding what was remaining of the roll in the plastic. "I think it might be a few more before we are through." She pondered the thought of handing Yui and Nodoka the package. "But we've already had this before, so this isn't anything new," Azusa said to herself. She smiled at Ui's unselfishness and continued to walk down the hall with a nod and a giggle to where Yui and Nodoka were waiting for her. But first, she had to go back to 2-1 to change into her regular uniform.

* * *

Ui, Mio, Ritsu and Tsumugi were full after Azusa and Nodoka provided lunch and Mugi provided the tea. "That hits the spot," Ui said. "We've got high hopes, we've got high hopes..."

"Oh, quit it with the Tin Pan Alley, will you?" Ritsu groaned, slumping over the desk.

Mugi joined her in resting her head and arms on the table. "Fifth period's already begun, and we're still here."

"Time continues to tick, tick, tick, tick, tick," said Mio in her state of content melancholy. "We should have bought an hourglass."

Ui agreed. "Yeah. We should have."

"Is this what we like to call Senior Ditch Day or something?" Ritsu asked the three of them.

"I know they do it in America and elsewhere," Ui replied.

Ritsu was smug as a Scotsman. "Man. It's like we're playing hooky; only this time we can get away with this sort of stuff."

"Damn right, eh!" They both exchanged high-fives as Ton-chan continued to swim about in his tank. "Anyway, is there anything else that we haven't done yet?"

"What do you mean?" asked Mio.

"Well, you know...I would believe that there are some stuff we didn't get a chance to do, aside from eating that Golden Chocolate Roll."

Ritsu thought about it. "Let's see, hmmm..."

Mio's face lit up. "I got an idea!"

"What's that, sugar buns?"

Ui meant to find out as well amid the chaos and discussions downstairs. "Mio-chan, we want to know too!"

"I have to feed Ton-chan," she said.

Mio dropped some pellets for their turtle kouhai to snack on. Chomp. Another chomp. And another chomp. "So let me guess: you've never fed Ton-chan before, have you?" Ui asked her.

Mio gave away a smile of accomplishment. "First time for me to do something like this. Someone else would always do it, and I haven't had the chance."

"A trivial issue," Ritsu deadpanned as the pignosed turtle continued to eat his lunch.

"Well, Ritsu, what do YOU want to do?"

"Hmmm." She produced an envelope indicating what was remaining of the club's budget. "I was actually wondering what we should do with the leftover funds."

"How much is there left?" Ui asked her.

Ritsu emptied the envelope, revealing a coin with a hole. "Five yen."

Ui was flabbergasted. "That's it? Man, you can have that!"

Mio had other ideas. "Actually, it would be all right if we just left that here."

"Let's dress it up and tie a ribbon on it! I have something!" Tsumugi got a stray pink ribbon and tied it up to make it look like a miniature wreath.

"Cool," Ui said. "This is like a good-luck charm. Now we just need to put a long string through the hole, and we got a kick-ass necklace! Let's give this baby to Miss Sawako!"

"No way," Ritsu deadpanned. "Those things will not work on her."

"Agreed," Mio said.

"You two are full of pie," Ui grumbled. "Anyway, Mugi-chan. was there anything that you haven't done that you wanted to do?"

"Hmmm." Now she thought about it for a little bit. "Well, it's this: setting a new record for the most cups of tea drunk in one day."

More tea. Simple enough. 100 cups were downed by the entire group. Ui downed 40. Mugi, and Ritsu downed 25 while Mio downed just 10.

Ui was drunk in her keyboardist's goodness. "Heaven," she sighed. "Utter heaven. I can't come down..." Too much chamomile could be a problem. Mugi's blend was so good, it was a sedative. It was poison.

Mio tuned her bass and Ritsu tuned her drums. "Son of a bitch; it's sixth period already? Damn! Friggin' damn!"

"Ohhhh yeah," Mugi said, idly stirring sugar in her cup with a spoon. "And the countdown continues."

In the background, the last track of AC/DC's "Back In Black" album was playing, albeit softly.

* * *

_"Hey there, all you middle men_

_Throw away your fancy clothes_

_And while you're out there sittin' on a fence_

_So get off your ass and come down here_

_'Cause rock 'n' roll ain't no riddle man_

_To me it makes good, good sense_

_Good sense_

_Ow_

_Oooh yeah_

_Heavy decibels are playing on my guitar_

_We got vibrations coming up from the floor_

_We're just listening to the rock that's giving too much noise_

_Are you deaf, you wanna hear some more_

_We're just talkin' about the future_

_Forget about the past_

_It'll always be with us_

_It's never gonna die, never gonna die_

_Rock 'n' roll ain't noise pollution_

_Rock 'n' roll ain't gonna die_

_Rock 'n' roll ain't noise pollution_

_Rock 'n' roll it will survive_

_Yes it will, ha ha ha ha_

_I took a look inside your bedroom door_

_You looked so good lying on your bed_

_Well, I asked you if you wanted any rhythm and love_

_You said you wanna rock 'n' roll instead_

_We're just talkin' about the future_

_Forget about the past_

_It'll always be with us_

_It's never gonna die, never gonna die_

_Rock 'n' roll ain't noise pollution_

_Rock 'n' roll ain't gonna die_

_Rock 'n' roll ain't no pollution_

_Rock 'n' roll is just rock 'n' roll_

_Oh Rock 'n' roll ain't noise pollution_

_Rock 'n' roll ain't gonna die_

_Rock 'n' roll ain't no pollution*_

_Rock 'n' roll it will survive_

_Rock 'n' roll ain't no pollution_

_Rock 'n' roll it'll never die_

_Rock 'n' roll ain't no pollution_

_Rock 'n' roll_

_Oh_

_Rock 'n' roll is just rock 'n' roll, yeah!"_

* * *

"I wonder if today will be the day we release our new record to the public," Ui said to the others.

"A record for who?" Mio asked. Tsumugi's ears were perked.

"Our school record for the most times we drank tea in a single day, which was 100."

"For your information," said Mio, "we've been drinking since this morning."

"So we're going to be up for quite a while," Ui pondered.

Mugi was inspired as she saw the early afternoon sun gleam on one of the windows. "That's it!"

"What's it?" Mio asked.

"I realized what I haven't done yet."

"What's that?"

"Cleaning the windows."

Grabbing a blue cloth from her bag, Mugi gave every one of the windows in the room a good shine. She, Ritsu, Ui and Mio could see the campus and the skyline of the Tama region, Western Tokyo. The suburbs.

"Whoa," Ui, Ritsu and Mio chorused.

"Shiny and new, like a virgin!" Ui added. "Clean for the very first time!"

"You know," Mugi replied, "I remembered that I had bought this a long time ago, but I had never used this, the Sparkle Window Cleaner Cloth."

"Well, at least you've shot that down. This looks awesome!"

Mio smiled as she could see a crystal-clear reflection of herself. There were blue skies with few clouds in sight. Wonderful weather for March. "Guys, with this being done, we might as well clean this whole clubroom until it shines while we're at it." The others gasped. Mio was bewildered at the reaction. "Eh?"

Ui grabbed her hand. "Mio, we should have done this stuff earlier. Let's do it! Today, we're cleaning the entire clubroom one more time!"

Ritsu was motivated. "Hell yeah!" At least they were doing something.

Mio was one of those cooler heads who prevailed. "Relax."

Mio and Ui opened the windows to accommodate for the ammonia fumes. Tsumugi put the chairs and the table aside, while Ritsu helped put away the drum set, the keyboard, the other instruments and bags. Of course, Ritsu and Ui wanted to horse around just for the sake of doing it, much to Mio's indignation.

"Ready...GO!" Tsumugi watched Ui and Ritsu race each other in sweeping away the dust. Naturally, Ui won.

Next, it was time to clean the tables and chairs. Ritsu did her share of this, while Tsumugi continued to work on the remaining windows. Mio worked on cleaning the whiteboard and blackboard, while Ui worked on the walls and the storage room, giving her frog a little shine on the side.

* * *

As the afternoon progressed, the four of them placed everything back to where they originally were. Outside, the clock read 3:30 p.m. JST. The skies of blue gave way to counterparts of yellow, orange and red.

"That takes care of that," Mio said. The penultimate day of the school year was concluding with it.

"Looks good," Ui said to the four of them. "I do this all the time at home, so this is old hat, for your information."

"And thus," Ritsu added while thumping her chest, we will leave this room without any regrets.

"But of course," said Mugi. "But of course."

Ui looked at her bags, "And we still got a lot of stuff to take home, though."

"As the old maxim goes," Mio reminded her three partners to her right, "you reap what you sow."

_Ding-dong-ding-dong..._

_Ding-dong-ding-dong..._

The four of them looked up. The Westminster chimes from the campanile rang one final time for the day.

Mio realized it.

Ton-chan realized it.

Tsumugi realized it.

If they all had souls of their own, the fine silverware the club used realized it.

Ritsu realized it.

Ui realized it.

And the school realized it.

_Ding-dong-ding-dong..._

_Ding-dong-ding-dong..._

There was only one day remaining.

One day remaining.

ONE DAY REMAINING in the entire 2010-11 school year.

And that was graduation.

The clock read: sixteen and a half hours to go until the biggest event of their lives took place.

"Classes are officially over!" Ui exclaimed, fists punching the air of elation.

Ritsu echoed the same sentiment. "All right peoples, once Azusa is here, we can celebrate by playing some rock and roll!"

"Shouldn't we have some more tea first before we go ahead and do it?" Mugi asked the two of them with Mio watching.

"Again?" Mio groaned. "Again? Are you serious? Look, I'm already tired of it. It's already doing a job on my stomach. No, thank you."

"Well, this is our final after school meeting, so it's proper that we do this right."

"Our last one, huh?" And Ui came to terms with the news. It was bitter, but it was true: this marked the final meeting of the club that she was a proud member of for three productive years.

"Is something wrong?" Ritsu asked her.

"We need to do something special."

"What do you mean?" Mio wondered.

"This is a critical moment in our lives. It's graduation, for goodness sakes. I mean-"

"Ui-chan, relax, relax," Tsumugi said.

"That was me in Yui-mode, by the way."

"Oh," groaned the others.

"Anyway," Ui said, pacing around the room like a field general, "this marks our last time having tea together like this, right?"

Mio looked at Ui with a confused face. "Uh, yeah. Didn't you realize that?"

She pointed at her. "I was only confirming." Then she continued to pace around. "I wonder what to do..." Mugi held her tight. "Mugi-chan...whatever should we do?"

"Shhh..." Tsumugi hushed her by letting her lips and tongue lock with hers. Now it was Ritsu who had the vulcan salutes on her cheeks. A kiss turned into an embrace...and a good old fashioned fondling episode.

"M...Milady..."

"U...Ui-chan..."

"Both of you, get a room!" Mio groaned.

Ritsu was traumatized. "They already have one; it's this!"

"Oh. Yeah."

They could only watch as Ui and Mugi continued to kiss each other, and a saliva trail could be seen from their parting lips. "It has always been a childhood dream of mine's to kiss a guitarist that is a girl," Mugi whispered after five minutes, placing a calm finger on Ui's trembling lips. "You made my wish come true, my dear." Ui could only nod at savoring a girl who tasted as sweet as the desserts and tea she served for so long.

"I think we should leave something behind, like how Nodoka had in our yearbook."

"Ohhhh." Mio and Ritsu liked that idea. They looked at each other, pondering the possibility. But Azusa needed to have a say in all of this, too. She was on her way to the music room.

"Like what?" Ritsu asked her.

"How about a group photo?"

"But it would only be us, though. We need Azusa here."

"Carving our names into a desk, maybe?"

"Can't be done," Mio said. "That's vandalism."

"Well what the hell are we gonna do then? Oh, I know!" Ah, the power of the Eleventh Hour. "What about our songs?"

"Our songs?" Ritsu exclaimed. "Interesting."

"Great idea," Mugi said. "Ui does it again!"

"Thank you."

"But how would we leave that behind?" Mio asked them.

Tsumugi put her hands together. "I know something."

"Let's hear it." Ui was all ears, as were the others.

"We play all of our songs that we composed ourselves. Then we record it on a cassette to place in the archives. This way, we have left our mark for good. I have a cassette available for this purpose. And there should be a recorder in the storage room."

"Sounds like a plan; let's do it!"

Interestingly enough, they didn't realize that they were going to have to do it all over again tomorrow.

* * *

Back at Class 2-1, the sophomores were bidding their farewells as they looked forward to becoming seniors next April. "So you're heading to the clubroom, I take it, Azusa?" Nodoka asked her.

"That's right."

Yui Hirasawa was back from running an errand. "Hey, if onee-chan is still there, can you tell her not to come home too late? I want her to buy me some ice cream."

"Don't worry; I'll tell her to buy you a couple of buckets."

"Azunyan, I love you!" She glomped Azusa with love. "And thanks for the golden roll; it was delicious!"

"All right. See you then." Azusa took off ahead of the two of them with the speed of a house cat running for her life. She made the mad dash up the stairs, and got to the door.

"I think they might still be having tea," she said to herself.

However, she heard the sound of some drums and cymbals, a keyboard, a bass and a guitar being tuned.

Azusa realized that they were getting ready for another practice. She opened the door. "Hey everyone."

"Well look who's here," Ritsu said to the others.

"Azunya~~n!" Ui said, waving to her. "What's up, baby girl! Glad you came!

"Get your guitar out; we're gonna have us a jam session!"

Azusa was feeling over the moon. "So we are gonna play, huh?"

Ui flashed a victory sign. "Correct."

"Fantastic; let's do it." She had forgotten to remind Ui not to come home too late.

"We're going to play all of our songs, though," Tsumugi reminded her.

That news hit Azusa hard. "The entire catalogue? Are you serious?"

Ui pointed to an old tape player on the bench. "We're gonna record them all on that device you see there."

"With this thing?"

"That's all we have, unfortunately. It's going to be a cassette for now." It was a pink cassette, with blue and light-blue livery. Later on, the staff at the school would burn the midnight oil and copy the recording to 5,000 CDs to be handed out the following day.

"That's the thing," Ritsu pointed out to her. "We believed that if we wanted to leave something behind, like a footprint of the band we all know as Hokago Tea Time, this was the way to do it."

"Wow..." Azusa couldn't believe that the band she was a part of was going to help create their very first album together. It was history in the making. "All right, I'm in!" She whipped Muttan out. "Here we go, everyone!" Ritsu exclaimed on the recording, her sticks touching upwards. "HTT is on the air once again! Let's do this!"

"HELL YEAH!" exclaimed the others, fists piercing the air.

"So which song should we start with?" Azusa asked. They all stood still. "You morons didn't think this through, did you?"

They were embarrassed to admit it. Too crestfallen. Especially Ui, who was more embarrassed for the others rather than herself. "Well, you see, er..."

They wrote a list of songs to play. "I think we should do 'Fuwa Fuwa Time' first, since that is our very first signature anthem," Ui suggested.

"I think we should put that at the end," Mugi replied.

"No, I would put U&I as the closer."

"Let's put 'Curry Over Rice' as the next track following 'Fuwa Fuwa,'" Ritsu suggested.

"The first song should be an upbeat one, and 'Fuwa Fuwa Time' is definitely upbeat," Mio said. "Also, I think whenever we have a show, we must open it with this."

"In these types of situations, members of the light music sisterhood of rock who are soon to be graduates of this wonderful school," Ui said, crossing her arms, "we all must evaluate the musicianship for several minutes. We must evaluate while in deep thought. What songs will set the mood right? When is it the right time to change the pace? And if you are going to start it off with a bang, then you need to finish it off with a bigger bang." Azusa gasped at the suggestion. "Azunyan, is there a problem? Tell me, sweetie."

"You actually said something about musicianship! I'm so impressed."

"Oh please, what are you so surprised about. It's a no-brainer, really. This is one of the key fundamentals of being a superstar on stage: evaluating the musicianship."

"You just wanted to say to say it, didn't you?" Ritsu asked wryly.

"But it was for a reason, my dear Ricchanski."

She just had to snicker at the endearing remark. "Ricchanski...oh you!"

"That being said," Azusa said, "how about we kick this off with an instra of Fuwa Fuwa Time?"

"An instra, eh?" Ui was interested. "Do share the members of this sisterhood the definition."

"An instrumental, Ui," Mio clarified. "Instra's the shortened form of it. In the music industry, it's known as an empty track, and has no vocals. These things are used for sampling."

"Hmmm. Similar to karaoke, right?"

"Not exactly," Azusa snarled, "but it's close. Actually the instra is, in my opinion, better than the karaoke version."

"No, I do get what you're saying!" Mio said, excited as the possibility. "These things are generally the first and last tracks on an album."

"Exactly!"

"I get it as well," said Ritsu, "but in all honesty, do we really need these extra tracks? I mean, the space that we currently have on our cassette may not fit them all."

Azusa was disappointed in being sent back to reality. "I guess you do have a point regarding the time constraints."

Ui gave her arms a well-deserved stretch. "Man, deciding the order of these tracks is pretty difficult."

"That's why I told you that we could use some tea as an energy boost before we got started," Mugi told them. "You're not listening to me here. Especially you, Mio-chan. I'm so disappointed in you."

"Well excuse me for not knowing any better, Mugi!" Mio retorted in her own defense. Mugi winked, a finger to her lips, giggling.

"Go with the flow next time. You'll need to when we get to JWU." She got up and prepared one more batch.

"Mugi-chan's right," Ui said to the others. "We need something."

"Weren't we short on time?" Azusa asked her seniors.

"You haven't had any yet, have you, Azunyan?"

"Haven't had any what?"

"Tea."

"I was in class the whole time, unlike you guys who were playing hooky the entire day!"

"You are guilty as charged!"

"Mou!"

Mugi took a look at the tape player. Another OFF switched flipped to ON. She brought the recorder over to the table.

"Anyway, we have had so much tea today—100 cups, mind you, all four of us—that it's not even funny!"

"That isn't anything to brag about," Mio said.

Mugi was in a mental state of excited and eager as she pressed the RECORD button. "How about we just leave this on and record what's going on at this meeting?"

Ui liked the sound of that. "Cool."

Ritsu crossed her arms and spoke authoritatively. "To sum it all up, Hokago Tea Time is a band that passionately expresses the rock spirit of high school students living in the now. This is who we are. We are HTT, and we represent YOU!"

"Bastard," Mio said with a sleazebag expression. "You're just trying to be a badass tomboy who things she knows what the fuck she is talking about. Faker. Stupid Ritsu."

"News flash, Mio: we are being taped here, and that would not be a smart thing to say. And tone it with the profanity, for crying out loud."

Ui joined in. "Anyway, Club President Ricchan. As far as you're concerned, tell us the definition of 'after school'."

"Well, one way of putting it is...a waste of one's life?"

Mio threw her hands up in the air in disgust. "Oh my fucking...arrrgh! Ritsu, you hypocrite! Whatever."

"We shall note that for the press," Ui said as Azusa and Tsumugi laughed.

"But I guess, it is what Ritsu says it is. But if you were to ask me, it's a time to do the things you always wanted to do. You're doing something, instead of nothing. For us, it's playing music."

"Really, you guys are a riot," Azusa said to all of them.

Ui pressed the REWIND button. "Let's do a little replay here." Just push play, Ui. And she did. Ritsu, Mio and Azusa were embarrassed to hear Ui present what could be used as blackmail. A sting operation. Operation K-GONE! or something. A press of the STOP button. "Nice work, you guys. I'm gonna send this to the Yomiuri Shinbun and make thousands of yen from it." They looked at her with threatening eyes. "I was only kidding~~~."

"Do I actually sound like that?" Mio said with a blush against low eyes.

Azusa has reached her limit and was sweating. "Let's stop this thing already! I can't take it anymore! Let's just record our songs."

Ui scoffed at the remarks of modesty. "You serious? This is awesome." She pressed the RECORD button.

Azusa reached out. "Stop it already!" She pressed STOP.

"We just recorded that." REWIND, then PLAY.

"Stop it already!" echoed the tape player. Azusa cowered in fear.

Ritsu, Ui, and Tsumugi laughed, the former two forming identical gestures of awestruck.

"That was scary," Azusa trembled.

"Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about," Ritsu said, teasing her further. "The Oracle of the Music Room was true."

"You get really scary when you're mad, Azunyan," Ui added.

She admitted as much. "I do apologize for always being like this." She got back to her senses. "Hold on a minute! We need to hurry up and decide the song order we want to use!"

"Right, right."

"She's burning up!" Ritsu exclaimed. "I can feel it!"

"Oh noes, somebody call 1-1-9 or something!"

Azusa was full of it now. "Dammit, both of you, I swear man!"

The final song order was as follows:

_

* * *

1. Fuwa Fuwa Time_

_2. Curry Over Rice_

_3. My Love Is A Stapler_

_4. Fude Pen Ballpoint Pen_

_5. Pure Pure Heart_

_6. The Strawberry Parfaits Don't Stop_

_7. Honey Sweet Tea Time_

_8. Tokimeki Sugar_

_9. Winter Days_

_10. Samidare 20 Love_

_11. Rice Is A Side Dish_

_12. U&I

* * *

_

Interestingly, Miss Sawako would make a cameo appearance in the recording as she made her way up the stairs. "Another busy day has come and gone," she said to herself.

She noticed a sign that said, "Recording In Progress. Do Not Disturb." They were a fourth of the way through with their album. "Looks like I should stop by and take a look."

Ui went to the tape player and was about to stop the tape when Miss Sawako opened the door. "Hey guys," she said to Ui and the others.

"Miss Sawako! I was about to stop this thing, when you came in."

"You guys were recording, I take it?" she asked them, closing the door.

"That's right," said Ritsu. "We thought that that it was only fair that we record all of our songs that we did together.

Ui went on. "Given what Ricchan was saying, we thought it be a good idea to leave behind a copy."

Tsumugi soaked in the company of her instructor once again. "Well, now that's you're here, Miss Sawako, would you like some tea?

"Don't mind me, please go on with what you were doing."

"You got it," said Ui.

Ritsu knew what was next as she raised a drumstick. "All right peoples, up next we have another HTT favorite of ours, written several months back. This is Fude Pen, Ballpoint Pen!"

"Hold the phone, I need to go to the restroom; I'll be right back." Ui said, making a run to the ladies' room.

Tsumugi followed. "I'll be back."

"Same here," said Mio, following them.

"Same for me," Ritsu said, following along.

"You all have business to take care of?" Azusa exclaimed.

"Blame it on Mugi's tea, which we have been drinking all day. Ta-ta!" She closed the door.

"Arrrrrgggghhh! Hell! 100 cups indeed!"

"100 cups?" Miss Sawako said, stupefied. "They downed that many? I'm glad they didn't drown!"

"Storm in a teacup, maybe?"

"The jury is still out."

Point. Counterpoint.

"I have to go, too." She left to head to the ladies' room. Miss Sawako took the time to introduce herself. "Hello everyone. My name is Miss Sawako Yamanaka, the club advisor to the light music club, and a former member of the previous incarnation, the thrash metal band Death Devil. I hope this record finds you well..."

Ten minutes passed before they all returned to their spots. "Now with that out of the way, it's on to the next piece in our lineup, composed many months ago: it's 'Fude Pen, Ballpoint Pen!'"

Ui went over to the tape player and pressed RECORD. However, the chimes were ringing again. And a voice rang out on the intercom, "This concludes the school day for Wednesday, March 30, 2011. Tomorrow will be Graduation Day for the Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus Class of 2011..."

"Hey, Ui-chan," Sawako called out.

"Yes, Miss Sawako?"

"Do you want me to rewind this thing and press record for you?"

"It's all right. You've had a very busy day, so we just want you to sit back and enjoy our music."

"You got it. Fire away!"

Ui pressed REWIND and recorded again. "Here we go, guys!"

Mugi sneezed. "Ha-choo! Sorry about that, you guys."

Ritsu brushed that aside. "Forget about that. Let's do this!"

"HELL YEAH!" exclaimed Azusa, Ui and Mio.

Mugi got the message, loud and clear. "All right, let's do this!"

Ritsu nodded. "Ready! Fude Pen, Ballpoint Pen...1, 2, 3!"

The session continued.

* * *

The last song, "U&I", completed recording at about 8:43 p.m. JST. All in all, the recording session took four and a half hours to complete.

A starry evening came across the Tokyo skies. Upstairs, the light music club was wrapping up the recording session.

"That took a lot out of us," Ui said to the others. She was reading one of her books while the others slumped on the table, exhausted.

"Aren't you tired yet?" Ritsu asked her.

"I downed more cups than you, so the effects are still strong."

"Warrior."

"I prefer the word 'Amazon.' But does that sound too cannibalistic?"

Ritsu groaned. "It can sound however you want it to sound for all I fucking care! Good God!"

"Well done, you guys," Miss Sawako said.

"Still, I can't believe we just did that. Our first album. For the archives."

"But it was a good one. I can listen to this thing again and again, and it will never get old."

Mio looked on in wonderment. "Oh yeah. To think that we have done all this...this is our gift to the school. It's THE gift, as far as we should all be concerned."

"Can I look at it?" Ritsu asked. Ui handed the tape over to her. The kanji and katakana were written. "HOKAGO TEA TIME," it said. This was the light music club for the 2008-09, 2009-10, and 2010-11 school years.

Ritsu looked at the tape with a gleam in her eye, and an emotion of reflection. "If we get famous because of this thing," she said to the others, "hallelujah!"

"Hallelujah!" they echoed, with a laugh.

"How about we listen to it one more time?" Ui said.

Mugi agreed. "Yeah!"

"That's a good idea," Mio said.

"Let's just do it once because it's getting late," Sawako said to the five of them.

Ui rose from her seat. "Holy cow, I forgot to buy my new stockings!"

Mio laughed the thought off. "Buy them on your way home."

"I just realized," Azusa said to them, "the clubroom looks cleaner than before."

Ui thumped her chest. "That's cause we did it, Azunyan! You finally noticed! Come here, baby!" Another kiss.

"Oh, stop it, you! And besides, your uniform is all dirty."

"Oh yeah, that as well." They all got a laugh out of that.

* * *

Later that night, Ui made a run to shopping district. "So that takes care of the stockings," she said, browsing through the stores.

She saw a jewelry store near 10GIA and decided to go inside. Ui perused the various pieces of jewelry available: necklaces, bracelets, earrings and studs...and rings.

A ring caught Ui's eye. It was 24-karat gold, and had a cat-shaped jewel, a green topaz. Ui took out her wallet, and opened it. The recent remittance from her parents was more than enough for her to buy this ring. And it would fit the person she would give this to.

"Can I help you?" asked the merchant behind the counter.

Ui smiled and pointed. "I'll take this one."

After going to the FamilyMart for an ice cream run, Ui made the walk home. "Onee-chan, why are you late?" Yui whined, reading a tankoubon while munching on some chips.

"We were doing a recording for our archives, so we were running a bit behind," Ui explained.

"Oh! Is that ice cream for me?"

"Don't eat it all." She bought four tubs: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and Neapolitan, and for good measure, bought some maraschino cherries, whipped cream and syrup. "Actually, don't eat it yet." She placed the whipped cream, syrup and cherries in the fridge, while placing the ice cream in the freezer, which was spacious.

"Ehhh? That's no fun, onee-chan!"

"I'll prepare it for you before we take off tomorrow, all right? It's gonna be a big day!"

"Right, right."

As Ui made the trek upstairs and changed into her pajamas, she slowly fell asleep. She knew that her journey at Sakuragaoka High was ending soon, and she looked forward to finishing the year off with a bang.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 23**


	24. Thunderstruck

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 24:**

**Thunderstruck

* * *

**

It was written in the stars that a bright new future laid ahead for the members of the light music club. It was one without sadness or regret. It was one full or excitement and hope. It was one that marked celebration and jubilation. It was one that required the biggest dose of rock and roll they could offer to the people that helped them for so long.

It was Graduation Day 2011 at Sakuragaoka High School Girls' Campus.

Ui Hirasawa got up at about 5:30 a.m. in the morning, a well-rested soul. After a nice, warm bath, she put on her uniform for the final time, donned her hair clips and tied her hair back in a ponytail with her signature ribbon. Before she cooked breakfast for herself and for her younger sister Yui, she got on her knees and did a little prayer in her bedroom.

"Lord, thank you so very much for this wonderful day," she whispered. "I ask you to give all of us the strength to succeed in whatever we choose to accomplish, now that I, my friends, and my fellow seniors will be graduating today. I know it will not be an easy road, but you make everything easy for us, and we thank you. Please also pray for the one I love. I choose to keep the person's name in my heart, because you know who I am praying for. It will be difficult for her to come to terms with what she will be facing, but I want to make her life easier. I want to make her happy. And I know you will give me the strength to make this possible. Watch over all of us as we take the next step in our lives. Amen."

A sign of the cross and she placed a small box in her blazer pocket. Then she went downstairs to cook breakfast. Yui, already in her uniform, watched her. "Onee-chan?"

"What's up, Yui?"

"What are you cooking?"

"Take a look!"

She went over. "Whoa! Curry!"

"That's right, your favorite. And the sundae is on the table, so go ahead and enjoy yourself."

"You're the best, onee-chan! Tee-hee!"

"All right, all right." Ui sighed. "Can't believe it's here. This is going to be one eventful day."

She was ready. Yui was ready. And Gitah was ready. It was March 31, 2011.

As the sisters finished their breakfast and left, Ui flipped her iPod to the first track of AC/DC's album entitled "The Razor's Edge."

* * *

_"Thunder!_

_Thunder!_

_Thunder!_

_Thunder!_

_Thunder!_

_Thunder!_

_Thunder!_

_Thunder!_

_Thunder!_

_Thunder!_

_I was caught_

_In the middle of a railroad track (Thunder)_

_I looked 'round,_

_And I knew there was no turning back (Thunder)_

_My mind raced_

_And I thought what could I do? (Thunder)_

_And I knew_

_There was no help, no help from you (Thunder)_

_Sound of the drums_

_Beatin' in my heart_

_The thunder of guns!_

_Tore me apart_

_You've been - thunderstruck!_

_Rode down the highway_

_Broke the limit, we hit the town_

_Went through to Texas, yeah Texas_

_And we had some fun_

_We met some girls,_

_Some dancers who gave a good time_

_Broke all the rules, played all the fools_

_Yeah, yeah, they, they, they blew our minds_

_And I was shakin' at the knees_

_Could I come again please?_

_Yeah the ladies were too kind_

_You've been - thunderstruck, thunderstruck_

_Yeah yeah yeah, thunderstruck_

_Oh, thunderstruck, yeah_

_Yeah_

_Now we're shaking at the knees_

_Could I come again please?_

_Thunderstruck, thunderstruck_

_Yeah yeah yeah, thunderstruck_

_Thunderstruck, yeah, yeah, yeah_

_Said yeah, it's alright_

_We're! Doing fine_

_Yeah, it's alright_

_We're! Doing fine_

_So fine_

_Thunderstruck, yeah, yeah, yeah,_

_Thunderstruck, thunderstruck, thunderstruck_

_Whoa baby, baby, thunderstruck_

_You've been thunderstruck, thunderstruck_

_Thunderstruck, thunderstruck, thunderstruck_

_You've been thunderstruck!"_

* * *

A few kilometers outside the school, Tsumugi Kotobuki was watching the cars go by, her KORG keyboard slung across her shoulder. She was a reflective figure, taking stock in the cool environment around her. One car passed. Then two, then three.

Ritsu Tainaka and Mio Akiyama saw Mugi looking at the sky. "Hey Mugi, we're here!" Ritsu said, waving over as they ran to her.

"Ah, there you are, Ricchan."

"Good morning, Milady! It's finally here! The day we've longed for our entire lives!"

"Ritsu, quit running!" Mio said, huffing and puffing.

"How are you guys?" Mugi asked.

"Sorry we're running like this," Ritsu replied with an embarrassed laugh.

Mio elaborated the situation. "Ritsu here realized that she forgot her handkerchief on the way down here. Is Ui here yet?"

Mugi shook her head. "She's still on her way."

Ritsu groaned. "Bloody friggin' hell, that's no fun. She wanted us to walk with her together. So I don't know what the deal is."

"Yeah. Well, she'll be here in a bit; just give her time. You know how she likes to be deep in thought when we have these types of things going on, you know."

They both nodded in agreement. If Ui was taking her time getting here, at least they knew why. It was graduation, of all things! How could she dismiss it as just an ordinary day? It was slated to be extraordinary! A landmark!

"And it would be bad to be late, either," Mio said to them as they continued to watch cars pass by a store that just opened up shop.

Ritsu whipped out her mobile. "I'll go text her. Ui, we're waiting for you, hurry and get your happy-go-lucky ass down her NOW! And...Send."

"Whoa, that's a little bit harsh, don't you think?" her ladyfriend said.

"One of my final duties as outgoing club president." A buzz. "Ahhh, here's a response." A press. "It says, ahem, 'Ricchan, I'm already at the campus, watching the sakura trees. YOU GUYS get your asses down here' Shit, we've been had."

"She's already there?" Mio said.

"That's being on it," Mugi noted.

"Exactly!" Ritsu agreed. "Let me go call her." Ui was on Speed Dial. A whirr. "No answer. She's playing with us here. Bastard."

Mio was fresh out of ideas. "Well, what should we do?"

"I think she'll head down here and meet with us, and we all walk together," Mugi suggested.

Ritsu rolled her eyes. "Oh God. Guess we got no choice, then." After a few minutes, they saw Ui walk over to meet with them. "There she is."

"I told you guys to meet me over there!" Ui groaned. "What are you waiting for; let's go already!"

"All right, all right, chillax, Ui. Sheesh..."

"Hey Ui-chan!" Tsumugi said, "What's up!"

"Hey Mugi-chan! Good morning! Morning, Mio-chan!"

"Morning, Ui."

Ui walked over to the others. "Did you guys get a good rest?"

"We sure did," Ritsu said. "And we are ready to do this. We have been waiting, like, all our lives for this one moment. This has all the makings of an epic Thursday."

"I like your spirit." A high-five exchange.

"All right, let's go!" And it was off to Sakuragaoka for the final time as students.

* * *

Finally, they reached the campus with the feet of Hermes. "We're almost there!" Ui said, "Let's pick it up!" They made the mad dash past a large stage being constructed on the athletic field, suggesting that a concert was to be held later that day. But by who and for who?

Outside, the sakuras were in full bloom. The flagpole had the Hinomaru, the flag of Tokyo and the banner of the school: a sakura blossom on a field of light blue.

* * *

Miss Sawako walked down the hallway in her iconic white dress, with a rose on her left shoulder as issued by the campus. She has a smile on her face and a gleam in her eyes. A reflective gleam, because this marked the day she saw Class 3-2 become part of the Sakuragaoka Class of 2011.

"I think I have done all I could this year," she said to herself, walking past students conversing with one another up and down the main building. "And some. There can be no turning back now. And I like it like that."

* * *

The four of them got to the changing room to switch from their mary jane loafers to their school shoes. "Let's change into these bad boys, for the last time!" Ritsu said. "Come on!"

Back at Class 3-2, Mifuyu Matsumoto was talking with Jun Suzuki about her plans. "So, what do you plan to do after this?"

"Well, Mifuyu, I am going to take my show on the road to Keio. I'm gonna be a music major and take my bass-playing skills there. Eventually, I want to be a part of their jazz ensemble."

"Sounds like a plan. I'm actually going to study abroad at the University of Sydney. I got a full-ride scholarship there."

"Congratulations! There's some pretty good food there, too, so you are gonna be in good hands."

"I hope so. I mean, Australia is much different than Japan, you know."

"But our football team is better, as seen in our Asian Cup victory. Uh-huh!" They both were in stitches.

"Tadanari Lee, thou art a god!"

* * *

"We are changed, and we are set," Ui said to the three of them. "I will miss these shoes when I am gone."

Ritsu placed her hands on her hips. "Oh heck, you are gonna miss everything; who are you fooling!"

Ui snickered. "Nobody."

"Exactly, missy! Now let's roll."

* * *

Back at Class 2-1, Azusa Nakano, who got to campus by herself, thought about this day. It hit hard. It hit her really hard. There was no denying the cold hard truth that fell on her hands.

In several hours, the keys to the light music club were to be handed over to her from Ritsu.

The question was: how would she accept the responsibility, the weight that was now placed on her petite shoulders?

* * *

"All right everyone, take your seats," Miss Sawako said to Class 3-2. Everyone was accounted for...save for the others. The clock read: 8:00 a.m. Japan Standard Time "is everybody here?"

"The VIPs are still on their way!" Chizuru Shima said.

"VIPs, is it?" Nobuyo Nakajima said with a deep laugh. "Hahahah! We all know who they are. Right, guys?"

"YEAH!" said the class, fists in the air.

Sawako shook her head. "Oh brother."

"Miss Akiyama, Miss Kotobuki, Miss Tainaka and Miss Hirasawa are still on their way," said Haruna Okada.

"I know. I wasn't expecting anything less of them, to be honest. God help them when they all get to Japan Women's University. We'll go ahead and wait for them. Let me go ahead and take roll for the others..."

Back class 2-1, instructions were given. "You are to head to the auditorium and hand the graduates these flowers," the instructor said to the students. They were flower brooches, consisting of three pink blossoms tied together by a red ribbon. This was the symbol indicated that the recipient had recently graduated. Azusa would earn hers from someone wearing a green tie the following March.

"Here," Azusa said, handing the box over to the person behind her as she grabbed a brooch. She took a look at the brooch, and couldn't help but reflect on what this meant to her, and to the person she would give this to. Of course, the members of the light music club did this the previous March, so it wasn't like this was any different.

Yui and Nodoka got theirs as the others walked over to the auditorium "Hey Azusa, we gotta get going," Nodoka said to her.

"Hey Azunyan, you all right?" Yui asked her.

"Yeah, I am. Let's go." But her own state of denial was her own state of denial.

"So this is it for onee-chan, graduation day," Yui said. "I want to wear this, though; it's so pretty!"

"Well, Yui, you can't," Nodoka reminded her. "This is only for the students wearing blue ties.

"Ehhh? That's no fun."

"Still, to know that I am going to be the one leading the council...man, I don't know if I'm gonna be ready for this or not."

"Nodoka-chan, you can do it."

"Hope so. I mean Jun-sempai prepped me for all this, so I do hope I know what I'm doing."

"Yeah..."

"Let's get going!" Mio said upstairs on the third floor.

"We made it!" Ritsu exclaimed. "Hallelujah!"

"I'm telling you people to get here early or else I have to fish you guys out of playing hooky," Ui said to the other three. "Let's go!"

"Roger that, Miss Hirasawa!" Tsumugi replied.

Azusa, Nodoka and Yui watched them trundle up the stairs to 3-2.

"I think the others got up late," Yui said to Nodoka with a frown.

"Possible. They will be making their trademark entrance to the party seconds from now. We don't expect anything less of them, really!"

Azusa groaned. "Dear God, help my seniors to stay alive today!" She looked upwards at the stairs in wonderment before bumping into the wall. "Ouch!"

"Are you all right?" Nodoka said, running over to her.

"I hit my head on the fucking wall...dammit!"

Yui only smiled. "Typical Azunyan. Gotta be careful, my little kitty!"

"Shut up, Yui!" They all went to the nurse's office to fix Azusa's forehead.

* * *

"We're so sorry for being late!" Ui, Mio, Ritsu and Tsumugi said with a bow.

"At ease, at ease, we knew this was coming," Miss Sawako said. "Right?"

"YEAH!" the rest of the class said, fists in the air.

"What were you guys doing, anyway?"

"The others arrived late, so I have to fish them out of the street, Miss Sawako," Ui said.

"We didn't realize Ui was already on campus," said Mio. "We thought she woke up late."

"Well, you guys are already, so go take your seats," Miss Sawako said with a sigh. She noticed something on Ui's stocking. "Ah!"

"What is it?" she asked.

Ritsu also noticed. "You've got a tear in your left stocking!"

"I do? Uh-oh. I guess the stockings I bought weren't too good."

Mugi was worried. "I wonder what we should do regarding that."

"It's a good think I bought another set of stockings last night before I got home and brought it with me. "For real?" the others exclaimed.

"Thank you, Mom and Dad. Love, Ui."

Mugi raised her eyebrows. "Problem solved. You got it in your bag?"

Jun checked it. "Confirmed. She does."

"I'll go get changed," Ui said. I'll do this myself."

Heading over to her seat, she grabbed the stockings, and made the dash to the ladies room.

"Don't run in the hallway, Ui!" Sawako said to her. Her pace switched to that of a leisurely stroll. "There's plenty of time left," she said to herself. "Girls will be girls, I guess."

Inside the restroom, Ui discarded the torn stockings and placed the new, lavender-scented stockings on. Total time: 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, Natsuka Sakurai pulled Ritsu over. "Hey Ritsu."

"Yeah?"

"You haven't signed this yet, right?"

"What's this?"

"A thank-you card for Miss Yamanaka."

"Ahhh. Let's do this." Whipping out her trusted pen, she put her John Hancock on the card.

"You guys are the only ones yet to sign this, so go ahead and do it."

"Roger that, Natsuka."

* * *

"Welcome back," Nodoka said to Azusa, who closed the door behind her. "You okay?"

"No, but I wish I was." She looked at the patch on her forehead. "Why did this have to happen today, of all days? Dammit, dammit, dammit!"

"Azunyan," Yui said, "If you cover it with your bangs, no one will notice."

"Really?"

"Trust me. It works."

Nodoka was smug. "Well, guys, it's time to face the possibility of the risks involved with this event. Frankly speaking, I hope and pray to God that nothing bad happens at the graduation ceremony."

Azusa's face turned blue. "I don't know about...that..." Ui was not a klutz like Yui was, but what if it did happen? Or what if Mio stumbles and flashes her stripes. Oh, the possibilities!

"Don't worry, Azunyan, it will be okay," Yui said. "Nodoka-chan, you have to quit being so mean to her."

"Sorry. I was only exaggerating; I was only kidding."

"Whatever," Azusa said, "let's do this." The three of them continued on their way to the auditorium.

Finally, the ceremony began. The master of ceremonies, which was picked from the tenured faculty, spoke. "I ask that each student now attach their flower to their respective graduating student," she said in her authoritative, fair but firm tone.

As the thank yous came around, the seniors were pinned with their flower brooches. Ritsu got hers, Mio got hers, and Tsumugi got hers.

"Sorry we're late!" Jun said to Miss Sawako, as she and Ui ran over to the others at the staging area in front of the auditorium. Outside on the athletic field, the stage was still being constructed.

"Glad you're here," she replied. "Hurry, there are two people waiting to give you their brooches."

"Right! Let's do it, Jun-chan!"

"Mmm-hmmm."

"Congratulations!" said one of the sophomores after pinning her brooch on Ui. "Thank you." Ui stroked her brooch, blessing it with a sign of the cross and a few pats. "God bless this brooch."

"Hey Ui," Ritsu called out to her. "You done?"

"Oh yeah. I think we should head inside and get this over with."

The blossoms began to slowly but surely spring open as the day progressed. Azusa was already done pinning her brooch, as were Yui and Nodoka. "Congratulations," she said to the senior she pinned.

"Thank you," she replied.

"Ritsu, you need to button your blazer for this one," Mio said.

"Aw, come on, not this again," she muttered. "Ui tried to pull a fast one on me similar to this before the play a few months ago!"

"Ricchan, that's not nice, putting me on the spot," Ui retorted, wagging a finger.

"You have to button your blazer for this one," Mio reiterated. "After we're done, you can have it unbuttoned."

"Sheesh, you people just have to make things interesting," Ritsu groaned.

Azusa looked at them in a state of despondency. She couldn't believe that she was going to say goodbye to the ones she looked up to the most. Especially Ui. She liked the warmth of her company and her undying desire to be with her, but to come to terms with this was just...so heart-breaking. She would not see her again for at least a year, at least not until she got accepted to JWU, and even that wasn't a guarantee. But Azusa wanted to be with them so badly that to let them go...this wasn't as much a graduation as it was a funeral. It just stabbed at her. It stabbed and stabbed and stabbed until there was no life, no spirit to keep her motivated to go on. She didn't want to cry over this, but how could she not? In about an hour or so, they would earn their diplomas, pieces of parchment placed in black, cylindrical tubes. There were times Azusa wished she was born in the same year as them, but she could only control what she could.

"I think this senior class will go down as the greatest in history," Tsumugi said to the others.

Ritsu laughed it off. "What are you talking about? We are the greatest in school history."

"Thank you very much for backing up Mugi-chan's point, Ricchan," Ui said wryly.

"Heheh!"

Azusa could see the looks of happiness and hope of their faces. But she could not return those same feeling and emotions because it was too hard for her to do so. And for some reason, it just didn't feel right, nor did it feel fair.

The winds from the north blew, causing an inconvenient updraft. Azusa's bangs were blowing in the wind, revealing her bandaged head. She covered the spot immediately.

Yui and Nodoka checked to see how their twin-tailed confidante was doing.

Azusa noticed them. "Nodoka! Yui!"

"Hey Azusa," Nodoka said, "It's a bit windy today, no?"

"Good thing you covered that up, Azunyan," Yui added.

"Yeah. That wind is very strong. I don't want them to see it."

"They won't, they won't. Just don't show it to them and you'll be fine."

"I've decided," Ui said to the three with her, "that I'm gonna major in child studies when I get to JWU. Mio-chan, what about you?"

"Well, I'm gonna go with information science."

"Oooh, thinking about being a librarian."

"I think it...pays well."

"Ahah. Mugi-chan, what about you?"

"Household economics," she said with price.

"Ricchan?"

"I'm gonna be a math major and play with numbers during my time at the university!"

"You aren't even good at math," Mio deadpanned.

"Oh yeah? Watch, I will kick some calculASS, beeyotch!"

"Can you quit it with the cheap puns, Ritsu?"

"Had to say it," she replied monotonously. And they all got a laugh.

"Well peoples," Ui said to them, "let's go right on in. Lead the way, Club President Ricchan!"

"At ease, follow me." The senior class began to file into the auditorium and sat by order of hiragana of last name. "That reminds me." She produced a shikishi board after hiding it under her blazer jacket.

"What is it, club president?"

"A surprise present for Sawa-chan. You gotta sign it. Everyone else including us did."

"Okay." Taking out a pen, she gave it her John Hancock.

"So you brought it with you, huh?" Tsumugi said.

"For a reason," Ritsu replied.

Miss Sawako called out to the four of them. "Hey you guys, get over here; the ceremony is about to begin."

"All right!" they said. Ui was able to hide the shikishi board after signing it.

"What are you guys doing?" Sawako said walking over to them.

Ui raised a palm of reassurance. "Nothing!" she exclaimed. The others walked by discreetly, hiding the shikishi board. "Nothing at all, Miss Sawako."

Of course, one of the teachers was seeing the whole thing and knew what was going on, but he chose to keep his mouth shut.

* * *

"And thus the question is issued to the three of you here at the Girls Campus on Thursday, March 31, 2011," said Ui to the others as they walked to their seats. The halls of the auditorium were draped with red and white banners from the balcony and red and white vertical livery on the sides. This would also be the same color motif for the stage at the athletic field. 'What the heck should I do with this thing during the ceremony?" She was referring to the shikishi board she was holding up, which included the signature and message of every member in Class 3-2, including those from the light music club. Tsumugi was skillful at walking backwards, like a true ojou-sama.

"Well," Ritsu said to her, "ahhhh, I have no idea.'

"Maybe we could use it as a fan," Mugi suggested.

"The auditorium is air-conditioned, so a fan is not needed for this," Mio replied.

"Maybe I should have Miss Sawako keep an eye on it," Ui suggested.

"I hope you were joking when you said that," she deadpanned, locked in tight on her own suspicions.

"I was." Mugi placed a hand to her mouth in amusement. "Of how about this. I put this under my shirt, and nobody will know." She tucked the shikishi board under her uniform.

Mio still continued to wonder. "For the entire ceremony?"

"I do apologize for having to give this to you, Ui," Ritsu said with a look of regret. "I wish I could regret nothing, but I am regretting something. Albeit trivial."

Ui's face marked sheer indifference. "I see."

"So I guess we can't do anything about it," Mio said to the others.

Ui savored the decor. "Hey, hey, hey! Look at this auditorium. Doesn't this look different than usual? I mean, look at this place! It's full of pinstripes and all that stuff."

The others looked at this place with a look of wonderment and melancholy. This was the place where they were welcomed it.

This was the place where they played their concerts and put Hokago Tea Time on the map for good.

This was the place where their last school festival and class play was broadcast.

And now this was the place where they would earn their diplomas.

_This was the place._

"So this is our graduation ceremony, huh guys?" Ui said, mesmerized and awestruck.

Parents had arrived from all corners of the city to see their daughters graduate from the Girls' Campus. Mr. and Mrs. Hirasawa requested to take a quick flight over to Tokyo to see Ui graduate from the school. Mr. Kotobuki, assisted by two of his bodyguards, was on the premises, as were Mio's and Ritsu's parents. They all talked about their achievements, and even their music. Everybody was accounted for.

The master of ceremonies, a good friend of Miss Sawako and one of the school staff members, spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the 85th Annual Sakuragaoka High School Girls' Campus Graduation Ceremony. Please be seated. Thank you."

The parents were watching from the balcony. The four seniors were watching from the front.

"Please rise for the principal's ceremonial address," the emcee said.

Yui rose with the others, still hiding the shikishi board.

The principal walked to the microphone on the podium. "Well, to all of my graduate students and parents, today your journey concludes. Today is a day for congratulations and celebrations as you go into the wide, wide world as graduates of the Girls' Campus of Sakuragaoka High School. I would like to thank our wonderful instructors and staff for their time and effort in helping you succeed in your ambitions. It has been a long and rocky road, but now it ends with nothing but a smooth, even path. Students and parents, you may now be seated."

They all sat down, Ui still hiding her shikishi board. So far, so good.

Ritsu looked on with a look of worry. She glanced at Mugi, who looked at Mio, who looked at Ui.

The principal continued with his speech. "To all my students, these past three years have been filled with various meeting and events. Now, the future now is in your hands. I, along with the faculty and staff of both the Boys' and Girls' campuses, wish you all the best in your future goals from the bottom of our hearts, whether it is to enter into a career immediately or enroll at a university that you worked countless hours to be admitted to. It is time for you to make the most of your future right now. Thank you." Applause.

"Damn," Mio thought to herself, "I'm so nervous about that shikishi board that I can't even concentrate on the ceremony."

Miss Sawako looked on with a smile on her face. She did her part for sure in making Class 3-2 exciting and fun. And of course, she couldn't forget those four.

"Are you all right?" Yoshimi Sunahara whispered to Ui. "I your stomach okay?"

She was hiding the board. "Nothing, nothing, love and peace, love and peace!"

"It seems everyone is worried about Ui-chan. I wonder what this is all about." She had to know. It was her duty.

The emcee returned to the microphone across from the podium. "All rise."

Everyone stood up.

Sawako was concerned. "Maybe her stomach is hurting? This isn't good. Wait a minute." Cue the mental rewind. "She was hiding something earlier. But what is it?" She was sweating, but she needed to know. "It could be snacks, it could be her guitar, it could be Ton-chan; hell, it could be a bomb that went through the censors undetected! Wait a minute." Cue the mental rewind again. "That can't be it."

"You may now be seated," the emcee said as everyone took their seats.

"I wonder what it could be." But it made no sense for Miss Sawako to speculate because it would not do her any good whatsoever.

The emcee continued on. "Ladies and gentlemen, we will now present the diplomas to the graduating seniors." Mio was seated across from Sawako and was worried about how the plan. So far, there were no major snafus. But Miss Sawako's suspicion was starting to make things very tenuous.

"Will each class representative approach the podium, please?" the emcee asked the five class representatives, Jun being one of them. They did so.

"Is Miss Sawako...concerned about Ui?" Mio asked herself. Sawako was looking about to see how Ui was "Awww shit, she really is! This isn't good!"

"All graduates, please rise," the emcee announced.

"Pass this message to Ui," Mio whispered to Keiko Iida. "Miss Sawako is worried about her. Go!"

"Okay," she replied.

As the music played, a game of telephone traveled across the room, going to Chika Nojima, who passed it to Mugi, who in turn passed it to another chain of seniors, who passed to Yoshimi, who passed it to Ritsu.

"The hell?" she exclaimed, bewildered. Ritsu passed to another chain of seniors, who passed it to the senior sitting next to Ui on her right side. "A message from Mio-chan," she said to Ui.

"What's that?"

"Sawako-chan is failing."

"Wait, what? She's failing? Hold the phone; I see what you all did there. Cue the 'Play Along' button." The class representatives earned their plaudits for their work representing their classes from the principal before everyone took their seats. "This is no time for telephone, we can do the Lady Gaga later. With the Miracle Whip."

"Proceed with the graduate address, please," the emcee said.

"Yes, sir." Jun took to the microphone to speak to the principal, going up the stairs along the way.

"Heheh, let's see what Jun has to say," Ui said, eagerly anticipating her speech.

Miss Sawako was still uptight over the whole situation. Ui was hiding something. And the whole irony of it all was she did not have an iota of a clue as to what it is.

"To the principal of our school, thank you very much for attending our graduation ceremony," Jun said, reading from her lines. "Looking back on the three years spent here, we have been treated to many wonderful things while being enriched with knowledge and the skills needed to become successful citizens of this wonderful country we call Japan. It has been an honor for me to be the student council president these past three years. In my time as president, I have had the honor of directing a government owned and operated by the students while being advised by our wonderful faculty and staff, who I am indebted to for their support. As a student, I have been treated to wonderful friendships and lasting memories that will endure until my dying day. The time I have spent here at Sakuragaoka, I hope, will be a springboard to bigger and better things as I begin a new journey as a student at Keio University.

"To my fellow students of Class 3-2, my friends, some of whom I have known for so long, thank you for you friendship and your support. You gave me the energy to do what I do best, and in gratitude, I hoped I helped bring out the best in you.

"To the seniors, I am proud to have represented whom I feel will leave these hallowed grounds as one of the greatest senior classes to have graduated at this school. Thank you for your dedication and commitment, and I wish you the best in the paths you will now take when tomorrow begins.

"And to the faculty and staff of this school, as well as to you, I speak on behalf of the entire study body when I say that I can never thank you enough from the bottom of our hearts for the countless hours you spent teaching us and tutoring us, and ingraining in our minds and our hearts that to learn is to live and to live is to learn. Many years will pass, and we will be plying our trade in many different professions of our own choosing, but we will still remember how you have been a part of our lives. And we will always be under the eternal watch of our alma mater, our beloved Sakuragaoka High School. Thank you so very much. And with this, I conclude my address."

"Thank you very much, Miss Suzuki," the principal said as the others applauded. He dismissed the seniors one last time, to a rousing applause from the parents and next-of-kin that came.

* * *

After talking with their parents, and introducing them to each other—even taking a group photo in the process—the four seniors took some time off to soak in their surroundings. In the background, Eminem's "Love The Way You Lie" was playing.

"That was a close shave," Ui said to them.

"Excellent," Mugi replied. Mio spoke. "I was so worried during that whole thing, it's not even funny."

"Of course it isn't," Ritsu said.

"I was also a bit worried too, but at least we got it done," Ui said to them. "But Mio-chan, why the heck did you try to play telephone on me?"

"Come again? I said that Miss Sawako was worried."

"When it reached me, I was told the same message."

"Whatever, let's just forget about it," Ritsu exclaimed before getting a headbump from Mio.

"That was you, wasn't it?" Mio deadpanned.

"Leave it to you-know-who to screw things up with flying colors," Ui said wryly to Mugi.

"So, Ui," Ritsu said, "did you sign it?"

"I did, but I would like to wait until we have a chance to hand it to her later today. Take a look at the message. This says, ahem, 'I wish you happiness and a husband, Miss Sawako. God bless you. Your loyal student, Ui Hirasawa.' There."

"Happiness and a husband...are you sure?" Ritsu wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't think that's what you should write, to be honest with you," Mio said to them. "You're making it look like she is ready to be engaged."

"That, though, is a bit harsh," Ritsu complained.

Miss Sawako walked over to the four of them. "What are you guys doing? You need to return to the classroom already. We're gonna hand out your diplomas."

"Yes, ma'am!" Ui said, hiding the completed shikishi board.

"That reminds me. Ui-chan."

"Y...Yes?"

"What were you hiding during the ceremony?"

She was breaking out in a sweat. They was all huddled in a line, trapped in a corner. "Nothing..." Ui said.

"Liar. I was so worried that I couldn't concentrate on the graduation."

"I was protecting it, that's why?"

"Protecting what?"

Ritsu knew what to do and placed her reassuring hands on her teacher's shoulders. "You'll see it la~~~ter~~~!"

"No, I would like to see it now."

"Miss Sawako, let's head back to the classroom," Tsumugi pleaded.

"Hurry, hurry!" Ritsu whisked her away to Class 3-2 while the others followed.

"Don't rush me, don't rush me!" Sawako complained. But it couldn't be helped.

An old gentleman, presumably a visitor from the ceremony, came over to Mugi as she went on her way. "Are you Miss Tsumugi Kotobuki, by any chance.?"

"Yes, I am," she said.

"Good. I'm a good friend of your father. He told me to hand this to you."

Tsumugi received a six-pack of Red Bull. "What do I do with this."

"Put it in your book bag upstairs. You will know when to use it when the time comes."

"Th...thank you I guess.'

"Anytime, Milady. Anytime." With a hop, a skip and a jump, he was on his way. Tsumugi placed the pack of Red Bull in her bag when she got to the music room before meeting up with the others at 3-2.

* * *

Miss Sawako called out the names of the students in her class by the first syllable in their last name's hiragana. "Hirasawa Ui," she said.

Ui rose and received her parchment in a tube.

After the entire class received their diplomas, Ui looked at hers. It read: "Sakuragaoka High School Girls' Campus: Be it known that Ui Hirasawa has completed the Course of Study prescribed for Graduation from this School and is therefore awarded this diploma In Witness whereof we has hereunto set our Hands and affixed the seal of this school this thirty-first day of March two thousand and eleven." And it was signed by the principal. The parchment has the logo of the school on top, and the border featured rabbits, tortoises, and a couple of phoenixes and plenty of cherry blossoms. Outside at the athletic field, the stage was nearly prepared, and the chairs and tables were being set. In a few hours, students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni, and others would be heading there. The band was not informed of this just yet.

"This is going to be framed for good," Ui said to the others, blessing the diploma with a sign of the cross and a few good-luck pats. "Hello, hello, hello; we must be on our way to glory. Bless this sacred parchment, noble sisters."

"You did it, Ui," Jun said to her. "You are now a graduate of this school."

"So are you, Jun-chan."

"Yes. So am I."

"You helped me out, so I have to thank you for it."

"But you also helped yourself out. Don't forget that."

"True, true."

Ui could only smile at Jun for her friendship. She wasn't the one she loved beyond that; it was somebody different. But without Jun Suzuki making things interesting and fun, it would have been difficult to enjoy life as a student. But then again, the Light Music Club played an even bigger role. Jun just joined in for the ride. And that was the bottom line.

"Is the name on everyone's diploma correct?" Miss Sawako asked everyone.

"Yes, ma'am!" they all said.

"Good. Please take good care of it and take this home with you."

Ui rolled up the diploma and placed it back in the tube. She opened it again. Pop.

And again. Pop.

And again. Pop.

"You know something, everybody?" Ui said to them all. "Rumor has it that I can turn this tube into a Pringles can after I frame my diploma and nobody will notice the difference. Interesting, no?"

"Quit horsing around with your diploma, Hirasawa!" Miss Sawako exclaimed.

"Sorry."

But she laughed it off. "Aside from that, this concludes everything. Your lives as high school students have officially come to an end."

Those words resonated into Ui's frame of mind.

Miss Sawako went on. "You have made history for me. You are the very first class I have been responsible for. And I am glad to see that you all made it to this day." She placed her hand on her roll book. "Even after graduation...what you have learned here I hope you will carry with you for the rest of your lives." She took the time to reflect on what she wanted to say. "I want you to take care of yourselves."

She looked at the entire class, overwhelmed with emotion. Now it was time to let them go. "Class dismissed."

"Miss Sawako," said Fuuko Takahashi, rising to her feet. "We would like to give you a gift to show our appreciation."

"A gift?"

"Somebody had it."

"I have it," Ui said, raising her hand.

"All right, Ui-chan, hand it to her."

"You got it!" She walked over to Miss Sawako, singing the fanfare from a Spyros Samaras anthem.

"The Olympic Hymn," said Kyouko Shimizu. The others giggled.

"Miss Yamanaka, on behalf of Class 3-2, thank you for everything you done for us as our teacher! This is for you!"

"So this is what you were holding onto during the ceremony?" Sawako asked.

"Yes it is."

She accepted it. "Thank you very much." She turned to the class, moved and humbled by the action that was done by her class. Then she looked at the various messages written down by the members of her class. "I will cherish this for the rest of my life."

"Sawa-chan!" they all exclaimed.

"Actually, I...should be the one thanking YOU. I am really glad that I was able to have all of you as my very first class. You will be a tough act to follow, and don't you forget it." Applause and cheers. "You are more than welcome to visit me whenever you have the chance. Thank you!" Sawako closed her eyes, and then went back into her famous Death Devil mode. "I'll be prepared for you punks, muhuhuhahahahah!"

"Hell yeah, Sawa-chan! The best damn teacher in the whole damn school!" Nobuyo roared. "Am I right!"

"YEAAAAH!" they all said, devil's horns in the air.

"Let's give it up for her!" The class gave her a standing ovation before they were finally dismissed for the day. For the last time.

* * *

The parents of the four seniors continued to converse amongst themselves as bouquets of flowers were handed down from other parents to their daughters. Most classmates bid their farewells to their friends for what would be the last time. Some they would never see again for a while, if ever. Outside the gate, a long queue was lining up for what would be the true final concert for a certain band the whole school was familiar with.

Azusa Nakano was depressed. She knew the seniors already got their diplomas. There was nothing she could do. There was absolutely nothing she could do. The light music club was nothing more than her, Yui and Nodoka. They needed to find at least one more member for April. But April liked an eternity away. That wasn't what was on her mind.

It was that.

_It was that._

It was the fact she had to face. And it continued to torture her and add to her state of melancholy.

She let out a sigh of disgust as she sulked in her misery down in Class 2-1.

Nodoka came over as well as Yui. "Azusa. You okay? Azusa, come on!"

A look of defeat. How pitiful. Her hand was resting on her hands, as if she had nothing better to do with her life. Baby, she was down, down, down, down, DOWN.

"Such a Japanese doll. Well, I'm going to go ahead and meet up with Jun-sempai one more time, then I'll be back," Nodoka said. "See you."

"Nodoka-chan?" Yui wondered as Azusa sighed. Suddenly, Yui's face turned blue. "Oh my God, what should I do to cheer her up! Oh, whatever; I might as well do this!" She gave Azusa a kiss.

Still she sighed. It didn't work.

"Dammit!" Yui exclaimed. "I need to call onee-chan...or maybe 119 or something! No! Onee-chan it is!" She whipped out her cell phone and called her.

Ui felt her mobile vibrate. "Hello? Is that you, Yui?"

"Onee-chan, trouble!"

"Trouble? What is it?"

"Azunyan in a state of depression! What the hell should I do; I don't want her to die."

Ui laughed it off. "We have our final meeting of the year upstairs, so she can talk with us over there."

"But onee-chan!"

"Don't-you-wor-ry, Yui. Your onee-chan's got this all under control."

"I hope you're right..."

"Oh, that reminds me. I gave you a list of things to buy. I need you to buy those items for tonight. I'm inviting Grandma Tomi and all our neighbors—even the shrine people—for dinner, dessert and tea. Mom and Dad will meet you at the entrance. If I am not available later tonight, you can have them prepare the food because they know what to cook."

"Oooh! Can I help?"

"No, I or they will do the cooking; you're just doing the buying, okay?"

"Oh, all right, But please, for the love of god, save Azunyan; she doesn't need to be like this."

"Spare me the dramatics, Yui."

"By the way, congratulations!"

"All right. See you later." Yui hung up.

"Maybe I should have just called 119 instead," Yui said to herself.

Finally, Azusa came back to her senses. "Oh, Yui!"

Nodoka came back from her trip. "Hey, she's still alive. We're saved."

"Nodoka!"

"Azunyan, you had me so worried!" Yui cried, hugging her. "Don't scare me like that."

"Seriously,' said Nodoka, "you don't seem well, Azusa."

"I'm fine, Nodoka, believe me."

"I believe you. And with that said, I'm gonna head over to the student council room, so if you need anything, just head over there and let me know. You're all right, Azusa Nakano. Don't let your conscience tell you otherwise, okay?"

"Right, right."

"See you." Nodoka was off.

"Bye, Nodoka-chan," Yui said. She turned to Azusa, crouching over, arms on her friend's desk. "I called onee-chan just now, and she told me to tell you to head over to the music room. Are you heading over there, Azunyan?"

"I am. What about you?"

"Onee-chan also told me that I have to do some errands for her because we're having a post-grad party. Mom and Dad are back from their work in Germany, so I have to get some stuff for them. I think they might be doing some cooking, too."

"A party...huh?" Azusa froze at the words.

"That's right, Azunyan!"

"One big party. It will be awesome! It's too bad that I will have to wear this uniform instead of onee-chan's..."

Azusa still looked at Yui with a sense of disappointment. Eventually, she had to come to terms with the news.

"I always notice this about onee-chan: she is always one step, two steps ahead of me. She just knows what's on my mind, and what's on everyone else's mind. It's just bloody ridiculous you know?

"You do have a point...I guess."

"But that's what so great about her. She's my onee-chan. The only onee-chan for me. Wherever she goes, I will follow her."

"Yui..." Azusa never saw Yui this serious. Normally she was bubbly, and clumsy and carefree, but even now she was coming to terms with the fact that she would be a senior starting tomorrow.

She clasped Yui's hands. "I'll be celebrating as well," Azusa said, her morale increased.

"That's the Azunyan I know, teheheheh."

"But of course."

* * *

Back at 3-2, while the flags were still waving in the wind outside, the four seniors of HTT were posing with the others in the class. Souvenirs. Memories. Pictures that no one could ever put a price on. That was the news on the march in late March.

The four of them posed with Akane Satou and Eri Taki of the volleyball team, full of victory signs. In an act of cheekiness, Ritsu inverted her victory sign. Careful not to let the bloody Brits know about this, sunshine...

"Thank you," Akane said.

"Good?" Jun asked, holding the camera that she used.

"Yes. Thank you."

"Um, is it okay if I also get a picture with the Light Music Club?" asked Akiyo Miyamoto.

"But of course," Ritsu said, the others captive as ever.

"Stand right here in the middle." Ui said to her.

"Thank you so very much!" Akiyo whispered. "You all are going to the same college, right?"

"Japan Women's University, the one, the only. Accept no imitations."

"Please keep playing your music. Your live performance at the festival was...straight out of a stairway to heaven!"

"Stairway to Heaven?" Mio said, bemused.

"A Led Zeppelin reference?" Ui said, surprised.

"I love the album," Mugi noted.

"Well, you better believe we will," Ritsu said. "And that's a promise! Let's do this." Of course, as they made the photo the people at JWU were notified about this, and took action. What action they did remained to be seen.

* * *

As the farewells continued among the students and the queue outside the school lengthened to 10 city blocks, the light music club soaked up the atmosphere.

"So where are you going to go for your graduation trip?" asked one student to her friends.

"France. Gotta go there," she replied as they both left the campus for the last time.

"Well, what do you know; Miss Sawako is still popular with all the classes," Ui said to Mio, Ritsu, Mugi and Jun.

"I wonder if she will be able to head to the club room to wish us well," Tsumugi wondered.

"Well, if she can't, that's all right. We understand the situation," Ritsu concluded. "But if she does, she's gonna be here for one more tea with us."

"You think?" Ui responded.

"Mmm-hmmm."

"Nodoka is waiting for me at the student council room and I need to give her some final advice, so I will see you guys," Jun said to them.

Thumbs up from Ui. "All right."

"You take care, Jun," Ritsu said as they made their way up.

"See you!" Mio said to her.

"Thanks for everything!" said Tsumugi.

"Anytime," Jun replied, retiring to the student council one final time.

As Ui made her way up the stairs, she remembered something. "Hey Jun-chan!"

"Yeah?"

"If you can, let's walk home together today when you're done, all right?"

She winked, flashing a vulcan salute. "Anything for a friend like you. Catch you later."

Naturally, Ui smiled at the sight and exchanged the salute. "I'll call you on your mobile!" Ui made her way up.

Finally, Miss Sawako saw the last of her students off. As she took one final look at Room 3-2, she passed by every table and chair, coming to terms with the fact that she would be teaching the freshmen in a week's time.

She turned around and saw a wall of thank you messages from her students, full of bunnies, hearts, caricatures of her, and plenty of sparkles. This was Class 3-2 final act of duty to their instructor.

Sawako looked at the entire blackboard of messages and for the first time all day, was moved to tears. She would go on to teach many more, but no other class would meet the high bar raised by that of Class 3-2 for the 2010-11 school year. "I can't erase this blackboard." Taking out her own camera, she took a few snapshots of the board before the campus custodian erased an inerasable piece of history.

* * *

The final meeting ever for this light music club took place soon after, with Mugi breaking out the Earl Grey and mochi. "Mugi, as always, thanks a lot," Ritsu said as she placed the cups down with their saucers on. Ui chose to play some smooth jazz on her iPod. Latin Quarter. Marc Antoine.

"Anytime," she replied. "Here you go, everyone."

Azusa came in. "Hey, there she is!" Mio called out. "Azusa! How are you?"

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Hm?" They were all confused.

"I was thinking about making tea today, but you guys are doing it anyway."

"No you can't, that's my job," Tsumugi said. "And it's one of my final duties as the club's treasurer."

Ritsu waved her over. "Hey Azusa, head over here!"

One final time, Mugi poured Azusa tea in her special kitty cup. Saucer? It don't need to stinking saucer! But Azusa was very reflective and was silent. But something wanted to come out. Something wanted to.

"Hey Azusa," Ritsu said.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to talk about what's going to happen from this point forward."

"I'll be fine!" But the others could see the pain in her eyes. She was not fine.

"But we haven't done a lot, though," said Ui.

"No, really, I'll be okay. You don't have to worry about a thing! Really! I'm planning to go on a recruiting frenzy! And I am going to make sure that this club will never, ever, ever get abolished because I have some freshmen and sophomores willing to keep it alive!"

Mugi wondered if she was hiding something behind all of that. "Azusa-chan?"

"Aside from that," she said, taking out something from her bag, "I never got the chance to say thank you. So I decided to write you guys some thank-you letters, although I believe I just recently wrote them. Here you go, Ritsu-sempai."

"Oh, thank you," she said, taking the paper.

She handed another. "Mio-sempai, this is yours."

"Thanks."

And another. "Mugi-sempai, here's yours."

"Thank you."

And one more. "Ui-sempai, this is for you."

"Thank you very much, dear. Is it okay if I read this thing now?"

"Uh, y-yeah, go right ahead."

"I wonder what you wrote...let's take a look." Ui opened the enveloped.

"Thanks a lot, Azusa," Mio said to her.

"You're welcome."

"This is so funny," Tsumugi said with a laugh. "I love your eyebrows! So it says. That's rich. And awesome."

Azusa got ready to place her bag on the bench. "I want to congratulate you guys on gradu-" Then she saw the other bags lying on the bench, and the diploma tubes. Her heart sank to her original state of desperation. She did not want this to happen. She turned around the others, a distressed, lost cat in need of a sanctuary from her own state of despair.

"Is there something wrong?" Ui asked her.

Mio wanted to know as well. "Azusa?"

"Please don't graduate," she pleaded, the mask of confidence melting almost immediately.

Ritsu didn't understand the situation. "Azusa?"

The tears began to form in her eyes. "I mean, I won't bother you about cleaning the club room...or slacking off and drinking tea. So please...don't graduate." The pain was too much for her to bear. Overcome with emotion, Azusa fell to her knees and let her tears down.

Ui ran over to comfort her. "Azunyan! It's all right."

"I'm sorry, but it's not like me to be crying in front of anyone." As she was wiping away her tears, her bangs revealed a scar.

"Oh my God, what happened to your forehead?"

"Did you get hurt?" Mugi asked.

Mio wanted to know. "Did you run into something."

"Yes, I bumped into a wall while heading to the auditorium and this happened," she cried. "Of all days, it had to happen today, in front of all of you!" She took her bandage off. "Even though it's your graduation ceremony...even though I should be happy for you...what is there for me to be happy about? I am nothing without you!"

"I have a bandage if you want one," Ui said. "Do you want it?"

"Mmm-hmmm."

"All right, hold still." she placed it on a sobbing Azusa. "Really, it seems to me you're doing a bit too much for us."

The sobs were still uncontrollable. "I'm sorry...I wanted...to do this for you..."

"Shhhhh, relax, relax."

"Sheesh, Ui, you're just like a mother watching over her daughter," Ritsu said with a smile.

"You kidding me? I do this all the time with Yui. And we're done!" Azusa was patched up.

"Th-thank you. I'm sorry. I didn't want to cry like this, but I couldn't help myself. I wanted to send you off with a smile."

"You wanted to, huh?"

"But I'll be okay! I'll keep the Light Music Club running and...well, Ton-chan is here, too..."

Ui sighed. "It's time. Do you want to go take a walk with me, Azunyan?"

"Why?"

"To calm you down. I don't like seeing you like this."

She slowly nodded. "Mmm-hmmm." She got up.

"Mugi-chan, Mio-chan, Ricchan," Ui said to them, "me and Azunyan are gonna go take a walk. You guys can go ahead and talk amongst yourselves. We'll be back."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Ritsu asked.

"Keep your distance, you guys. This is between me and her. See you."

"Come back soon," Mio said.

* * *

Ui and Azusa, the latter still crying, both sat under a tree near the bust of the founder. A full blossom fell into Ui's hand as Azusa leaned next to her, clutching her tight. "The reason this place is called Sakuragaoka High School is because of these little treasures," said Ui. "The sakura, the cherry blossom. The official flower of this prefecture. Every corner of campus has at least one of these trees. And when it is March and April, these trees are in full bloom, welcoming students who came through these hallowed grounds."

Azusa nodded, the tears still flowing.

"The coming and going of these cherry blossoms is a symbol of the ephemeral nature of life: that all good things must come to an end. You have to realize, Azunyan, that nothing lasts forever. The time we spend here may be coming to an end, but the relationships we have built with you will never die."

"Ui...sempai..."

"Just because we graduate doesn't mean that we won't keep in touch. Just because we graduate doesn't mean we won't spend time together. And just because we graduate, it doesn't that—fate willing—we won't be studying in the same university. Azunyan. You wanted to follow us, right?"

"H...how did you know?"

"Yui told me last week. I think you'll do fine enough to be admitted. But what I would do is get a recommendation from your teacher, and you should be on your way. Of course, you can go the long route and take the exams, but you'll have to do a lot of studying."

"I know. I told your sister and Nodoka that they need to find somebody to be the fourth member for next April, but this is gonna be difficult, you know?"

"No, you will find someone that will be the fourth member. Who knows, you might get a fifth or a sixth! You just need to recruit."

"But your sister is a slacker, and Nodoka is Nodoka. I don't know if I can trust them."

"I talked with Nodoka earlier today, and she said that she is committed to helping you continue the club. If Yui does not help you, I will give her an incentive to help you out?"

"Like what?"

"Plenty of ice cream and candy. That will get her going. You know my sister. She is a sucker for the sweet stuff." Azusa giggled. Somehow she felt slightly better. "The bottom line is this: you can do this without us. We're handing you the keys. It's up to you to do whatever you want with them. I believe in you. Let me go take a look at that wound." She took off the bandage, and kissed the spot. "Take a look in the mirror."

Azusa took a look. "Oh my God...!" No blemish. Her forehead was clean. "How did you...?"

"Angels like you should never get hurt like that, because that means I have to be the one that saves you, instead of the other way around. But I don't mind saving an angel, especially if she's next to me. All that's missing is wings and a halo."

"Ui-sempai..." Azusa whispered, touched by the comment.

"I wanted to hand you a few things," Ui said. From her pocketbook, she took out a photo with Azusa's face on it. "This photo is a picture of us when we revived this club in our first-year. You can see Ricchan's shiny forehead in all over this. And you are in this one, too. In that photo, we were one year younger than you are now."

Azusa giggled again, smiling.

Another cherry blossom fell onto a waiting hand. "This is also for you," Ui said to Azusa. "This has five petals, and this represents the five members of this band: me, you, Mio-chan, Mugi-chan and Ricchan."

"Th...thank you." The tears continued to come down.

"And finally, I wanted to give you this." Ui took out a box, revealing the ring she purchased last night.

Azusa was awestruck and gasped.

"Azusa Nakano, from the very first time I met you during my second year here at this school, I fell in love with you. There is just something about us that makes everything click. We enjoy each other's company. I enjoy yours, you enjoy mine's, and for me, it came to a point where this had to be done. Azusa. I want to commit my life to making you happy. I want to commit my life to protect my one and only angel that I touched. I want to treat you right, and bring out the best in you. And I will never let anyone harm you, so long as I am living, breathing, and walking this Earth."

"Ui-sempai?"

"Don't call me sempai anymore. Just call me by my name. In fact, that can be the same with the others. You know us too well to give us honorifics. I'll call you by your real name from now on. Azusa, when you graduate from this school, the following day we plan to be married in the auditorium of this school under the watch of these trees and our alma mater. You can move in with me at the dorms or at home, depending on what happens later on, and we will start our new life together—not just as college students, not just as roommates, but as LOVERS and PARTNERS for life. Azusa, will you marry me?"

Azusa felt so happy when she proposed. She was in love with Ui. It was difficult for her to express her feelings, but this feeling of love she had was for one person, and it was the sempai she loved the most. "Yes," she cried, her wings of elation sprouting and spreading. "Yes, I will marry you, Ui Hirasawa. I love you so much, I want you to be mine's. I don't want you to let me go."

Ui placed the ring on her now-fiancée's left ring finger. "It fits you. Look, I am wearing mine's."

Azusa gasped. Ui was wearing the same ring, except hers was red topaz. Azusa's was green topaz. "The jeweler gave me a 2-for-1 student discount anyway, so I thought, why not," Ui said.

Azusa's pulse quickened. "Ui..."

"Azusa..."

Their lips met. Their tongues met. And their souls felt the taste of honey for what seemed like the longest time. Azusa caressed Ui's face, the tears of sadness now converted into tears of euphoria as she stroked her lover's hair. Ui threw away her hair clips and her ribbon with the wind collecting it and sweeping it in the direction of Kyoto. Now with her hair flowing free, she undid Azusa's twin tails, revealing long, cascading rivers of black.

Azusa let out a moan as she felt the delicious teeth marks on her neck and collarbone send a searing rush of heat all over her body. She moaned in delight as she undid the buttons on Ui's shirt and blazer, revealing a beautiful mound and cleavage to go with it. Ui undressed Azusa in similar fashion, with her hitched breathing and shudders sandwiched between Azusa's shirt being unbuttoned and her red tie undone. She was so adorable to play with, Ui thought. Is she even more adorable to make love to? I know it has to be the case.

Azusa meowed as UI's hands worked their way around her arms, hips, thighs and legs. That spot she wanted to finger so much cried to be touched once again. A tweak. A moan. Another tweak. Another moan.

Azusa's heaves continued as she licked her lips and let her tongue touch Ui's nipples and areolae. She was unafraid to do this: why would she hold anything back? She was in love with the person she was engaged in foreplay with.

"Ui...don't stop...don't stop...hnnnnggghh...aaaahhhh..."

"Oh Azusa...this feels so good...this feels so good...I feel like I'm becoming an angel, too...don't let go of me...haaahhhh...ohhhhh...aahhhhh! "She wanted this so much. Azusa wanted this so much. The touch of her soft skin. The taste of her shiny sweat. And the smell of her hair and body, which felt as if she was eating one of Tsumugi's desserts from Paradiso.

As she fondled her lover's breasts, causing her to cry for more, Azusa wanted to savor the one she loved just as much as Ui wanted to put her all into her while savoring her petite frame. It was like a little girl playing with her baby kitten in the living room. Azusa was the baby kitten. And Ui was the little girl. It was a match made in heaven as their cores rubbed onto each other for the longest time.

As Azusa and Ui climaxed for the ninth and final time, They were literally naked, with all of their clothes off except for their panties, which were around one leg each. A straddling Azusa was resting on Ui's breasts, while Ui was resting her hands on her lover's tush. A light, playful slap from Ui resulted in a meow and a purr from Azusa.

"Ui...whoever thought you knew how to sex someone like me so bad...and do it so damn well...how do you fucking do it?"

"I know what turns you on, baby," Ui said with an impish grin, biting her finger playfully. "I know what you crave. That's how I am."

The naughtiness from Azusa was irreversible. "Ui...let's do this again when we have the chance, okay?"

"Yes, dear." And a kiss. "You can come to my place anytime, and we'll get it on. After all, you and me are one. Anyway, this looks a bit disgraceful; we should go ahead and put our clothes back on and head back to the club room. Shall we?"

"Let's do it, baby." They both put their clothes back on and returned to the music room.

* * *

"There you are, guys," Ritsu said as the two of them returned back to the room. "Where have you guys been? It's been 30 minutes!"

Ui clicked her tongue. "We just had to do some things."

"What things?" Mio asked her.

"Don't tell me!" Mugi exclaimed, Vulcan salutes on her cheeks again.

"What?" Mio and Ritsu said, turning to her.

"Ui-chan and Azusa-chan...made love underneath the cherry blossoms..."

Mio fainted. "Are you serious?" Ritsu exclaimed. "You two are..."

"That's right, Ricchan," said Ui. "We're engaged."

Ritsu jaw dropped wide open. "Congratu-friggin'-lations!"

"Thank you," Azusa said, smiling, the tears still falling.

"I can't believe you two are gonna actually gonna be together!" Ritsu said, annoyed at Ui for hiding it all this time. "Oh my God!"

"You're surprised? I've always wanted to be married to an angel, and now I have the chance next year. Not sure what the deal is."

"That is just unbelievable; not that we have anything against it, but to have it this early is pretty gutsy,' said Tsumugi.

"My parents are well-off, and we can afford having her move in if she wants."

"Is that so."

"Azusa," Mio said to her, "we wrote a song during at a special meeting we had at Ricchan's house in January."

"You wrote something for me?"

"Mio, why do you have to be the cool one!" Ritsu said, glomping her in frustration.

"Idiot; I have my own fan-club, and I have chosen to defend my cool image to the very end."

"We want you to have a listen because this is dedicated to you," Ui said.

"Hey, you're stealing my line!" said Tsumugi.

"Not stealing, borrowing. Let's do it, guys."

Azusa laughed, keeping in mind the words Ui told her under the trees.

"Azusa, have a seat," Ui said, pointing to the bench.

"So you're not calling her by her nickname anymore?"

"Nope."

"And what happened to your ribbon and clips?"

"I've graduated, so I don't need them anymore."

"That's doesn't make any sense," Ritsu deadpanned. But it couldn't be helped.

A few tunes of their instruments. Ui counted down the beats this time. And their official song to Azusa Nakano, entitled "Tenshi Ni Fureta Yo!" or "I Touched An Angel" began. Once more, in the confines of the music room, Hokago Tea Time was on the air.

* * *

_"Hey, if we name and preserve_

_Fragments of our memories,_

_Our "treasure" will be perfect._

_Yes, we spent every heartbeat-colored day_

_As if our hearts were filling to capacity._

_We got used to the uniforms and the indoor shoes,_

_And the scribbles on the whiteboard._

_We wonder if have to be prepared_

_When we enter tomorrow._

_But you know, we were able to meet a wonderful angel!_

_Graduation is not the end_

_Because we'll be friends even after._

_Photos of us together,_

_Our matching key chains,_

_They'll shine forever._

_Thank you for always smiling._

_Hey, even the cherry blossom trees_

_Look like they've gotten a little taller_

_But at such a slow speed we can't perceive._

_We're sure you were looking at that sky._

_There were many things we failed_

_But even so we were able to walk until the end._

_In the corridors after school,_

_The feathers of music gently overflowed_

_Until they pile up softly and lightly._

_If only we'd be able to stay like this._

_But you know, we touched a lovable angel._

_We want to say "We're back."_

_This place won't change._

_The texts in the inbox,_

_The things circled on the calendar,_

_You gave us extraordinary dreams and encounters._

_Thank you for the music._

_The station platform, the road along the river bed,_

_Even if we are separated, look at the same sky_

_And let's sing in unison!_

_But you know, we were able to meet a wonderful angel!_

_Graduation is not the end_

_Because we'll be friends even after._

_If you say "I really love you"_

_We'll say in return "We really, really love you!"_

_We won't leave you behind._

_We'll always be together for eternity."_

* * *

Azusa gave a standing ovation, and she cried tears of joy and happiness, she smiled the most angelic smile that could ever come from her. "High-fives, you guys," Ui said, initiating the exchanges.

The intercom rang.

_Ding-dong-ding-dong._

"Attention, attention, attention," a voice said. It was the emcee from earlier. "The Light Music Club will be performing a concert on the school's athletic field as a special closing act to the school year. All students, parents, alumni, visitors, and members of the public will be allowed entry in 30 minutes. The concert will begin in one hour. Thank you."

"What? We're performing one final time?" Ritsu asked, bewildered. "Nobody told us this."

"Unbelievable," Mio said. "One more friggin' time."

"How are we going to do that?" Ui wondered.

"We're performing again?" Azusa asked them.

Tsumugi walked over to her bag and brought out the cans. "It's a good thing I brought this."

"What are those?" Ritsu asked. "Oh, it's the Red Bull from before. But why six? There's only five of us."

"I think we all drink one and evenly split the last. That's how it works," Mio inferred.

"Apparently, we're gonna need this for the concert," Tsumugi said to them. They down the contents.

A janitor came over to them. "Hey guys, better head over to the athletic field; they need you one final time. And congratulations."

"Yes, sir!" they said.

"Put your brooches on, too," Ui added.

"I'll put them on," Azusa said, applying them back to their blazers.

"Well, if we're gonna leave," Ritsu said, "we're leaving with a bang! Let's show everyone what HTT is all about!"

"YEAH!" the others said. They packed their instruments and carried it to the stage on the field.

Outside, a long line that stretched 50 city blocks waited for the gates to open. Finally, they did, and it was a packed house. Over 5,000 came to this concert. Some wear wearing HTT scarves, pins, the shirt from the school festival...anything with Hokago Tea Time's image on it. The flag of the band, which was their crest on top of a simple white field, was raised along with the other three flags. Stewards were handing out the CD of their recording from last night. The midnight oil was burned. And signs congratulating the seniors and Azusa were all over the place, from "WE ALL TOUCHED AN ANGEL!" to " FOREVER OURS, FOREVER HTT!", to "WATCH OUT JWU, THE TEA TIME IS COMING!", to "MOE MOE...KYUN!" to "THE PRIDE OF SAKURAGAOKA LIVES ETERNALLY!" and the simple "GANBARE HTT!" Some were crazy enough to make cutouts of the kanji and katakana of the band's name. Others were waving the school's flag, the band's flag, and one fan even made cardboard mockups of the crests for the school and JWU. All it all, this was a crowd looking for a good show, and the NHK crew were at it again. This would be televised nationwide and broadcast online all over the world.

"Good god," Ui said from backstage, seeing the crowd. "We gotta play our good ones."

"Yes, we sure do. I think we're going to have to play some new music, too," Mio said.

"We can do this," Tsumugi said to them. "Let's enjoy this moment."

"Agreed," said Ritsu.

"Azusa, I hope what we did down there will motivate you to give it your best," Ui said to her. Azusa smiled and nodded.

The emcee from the graduation ceremony took to the microphone and spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the official farewell concert for the Light Music Club of Sakuragaoka High School Girls' Campus. We thank you very much for coming this afternoon. Now, without further ado...Hokago Tea Time!"

The band huddled up. "One more time," said Ritsu. "HTT on three, HTT on three, one, two, three!"

"HTT!" they all said, breaking the huddle, and taking to the stage to the roar of the biggest crowd they had ever seen.

Ui took to the microphone. "Hello everyone!" A roar of the crowd. "We are Hokago Tea Time, and we would like to start off with one of our favorites. You guys wanna hear a little Fuwa Fuwa Time?"

"YEAAAH!" they roared.

"Let's do it! Stand up and dance! Ricchan, take it!"

"1, 2, 3!"

Chords of C, F, G...and the concert began.

* * *

_"When I look at you my heart always goes thump-thump_

_Like a marshmallow my swaying feelings are light and fluffy_

_Even though I'm continuously looking at your diligent profile_

_You don't notice_

_Even if it's just a dream I can close the distance between the two of us_

_O God please_

_Give me Dream Time just between the two of us?_

_Holding my favorite bunny I go to sleep again tonight?_

_Light and fluffy time, Light and fluffy time, Light and fluffy time_

_Impulsively my heart throbs painfully again today_

_Reading too much into your dry smile I Overheat!_

_Someday your serious face that I witnessed before_

_Will come floating along even if I close my eyes_

_Because it's okay in a dream I want Sweet time between just the two of us_

_O God why_

_Is it painful to fall head over heels in love during Dream night_

_If I take out my precious teddy bear I wonder if I will be fine tonight._

_If I show a little courage_

_And talk naturally_

_I wonder if anything will change_

_I feel like that but…_

_(But that's the hardest part_

_How do I find a chance to talk_

_Y'know by the time I think about what to say it's completely unnatural_

_Oh geez, no! Time to sleep, sleep, sleep~!)_

_O God please_

_Just this once please give me Miracle time_

_If I could say it smoothly, afterward…something or another will change_

_Light and fluffy time, Light and fluffy time, Light and fluffy time..."_

* * *

The crowd roared, applauding. "Thank you very much," Yui said. "Here is a song that we wrote back a few months ago as a group. It's called 'Genius...!' Ricchan, take it."

"1, 2, 3, 4!"

A few strums, and the second of 25 numbers would be played. The crowd jumped and danced to the backbeat.

* * *

_"I tie my tie tight and now depart_

_While my heart is tied tight, too_

_A stage that's shown only to us_

_Let's go gathering our power_

_However many times I depart, it feels like the first time_

_Deciding one song is exciting and tense_

_But when we exchange looks, that easily_

_Changes mystery into happiness_

_We bask in the spotlight, light from around the world_

_We're just about gathered, almost radiating!_

_Because we're not incomplete, our motto is fun_

_Because we're serious_

_That riff just now was cool, it felt pro_

_Oh no, I'm already in high spirits_

_Could it be that we're geniuses...?_

_Nobody says so, but...we must be...!_

_There aren't any flashy accessories_

_Our sparkling sweat substitutes for jewels_

_We don't have makeup, either, just unpainted faces_

_But to that extent, we're honest_

_Our smiles in full bloom, people around the world_

_If we can make them smile, it's amazing, touching_

_Because we want to sing, the atmosphere is love and peace_

_Because our dreams are huge_

_This harmony is perfect, knack instead of pitch_

_Oh no, I'm already nervous_

_We don't sit down, our feet on the ground_

_Making good use of the fluffiness, soaring, happy_

_We encountered it, we found it_

_The supreme bliss of playing, a sense of unity_

_Before knowing it, we won't go back to being lucky_

_So we're going to go forward, tea time is our energy_

_Because we love everybody_

_Extending the loop, an awesome outro, tension doesn't have a ceiling_

_Then let's go, let's go more_

_Come on, because we're not incomplete, our motto is fun_

_Because we're serious_

_That riff just now was cool, it felt pro_

_Oh no, I'm already in high spirits_

_Could it be that we're geniuses...?_

_Nobody says so, but...it's true...!"_

* * *

"HTT! HTT! HTT!" they all chanted, their delirium reaching critical mass.

"Time for us to play another of our favorites, Curry Over Rice," Ui said. "Ricchan!"

"1, 2, 1-2-3-4!"

Here they went again.

* * *

_"I might be irresistibly in love with you, Bubbly Wobbly_

_This hungry feeling won't stop, Dizzy Giddy_

_Please!_

_A piping hot plate of curry_

_Give me a stimulating spoonful of spices_

_Instead of sweet, today will be medium-spicy_

_For a mature flavor_

_Meat, vegetables and a secret special seasoning_

_A growing child's greed awakening love_

_I love you!_

_Simmering well-made curry_

_Let's try two spoonfuls of spices_

_But keep it limited; It's no good if it's too spicy_

_Tingly, Fiery, Spicy_

_Oh… No no no no no no…!_

_Just a tiny bit of curry and a lot of rice_

_When you're not here it's lonely at the table_

_Someday we'll be on good terms with you on my silver spoon_

_Sorry!_

_Curry without roux;_

_Girls like sweet curry_

_I long for you but mildly-spicy is too much_

_I love you!_

_Simmering well-made curry_

_Let's try two spoonfuls of spices_

_But keep it limited; It's no good if it's too spicy_

_Tingly, Fiery, Spicy_

_Oh… No no no no no no…!_

_Just a tiny bit of curry and a lot of rice!"_

* * *

"I'm hungry for some curry now!" a person in the audience said after they applauded.

"Don't worry, we'll spot you a coupon after the show," Azusa said. The crowd laughed.

Ui continued right along, "Let's go on with another of our new tracks for you. Our Magic. Ricchan?"

"1, 2, 3, 4!"

* * *

_"It's the 6th sense, special magic music_

_It's the 6th sense, great magic music_

_Let's all go hum what we feel_

_Shy people and people who like show off, comfortably, freely_

_I want you to tell me your real_

_Let's draw out and play our aspirations and ideals_

_A dream like catching the clouds, for example_

_I want it to challenge our real_

_cute, loud, good, sweet, comfortable_

_Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, full of the five senses_

_I switch on that state without sleep or rest_

_Cute, loud, good, sweet, comfortable_

_If you entrust this and that to a song_

_Let's communicate with the sixth sense, heart to heart_

_Slap, mute, glissando, roll, trill_

_All of them together are a conversation_

_If we have too fun a time, we might forget it_

_Oh, like a needle rushing over a record_

_We could play for eternity_

_It's the 6th sense, special magic music_

_It's the 6th sense, great magic music_

_It's okay! Let's open our hearts about our worries, too_

_Sometimes we feel down on hard everydays_

_I want to go climb over them, our fight_

_ugly, quiet, bad, bitter, uncomfortable_

_Body and soul, full of the five senses_

_Let's be proud of our sensitivities_

_Ugly, quiet, bad, bitter, uncomfortable_

_If you engulf even those in sound_

_Let's connect with the sixth sense, courage to courage_

_The audience is together with us_

_A session of giving out yells_

_Tear-stained faces smile, smiling faces smile more and more_

_Yeah, they're not even in harmony with the score, a miracle_

_Is occurring_

_It's the 6th sense, magic music..._

_Let's communicate with the sixth sense, heart to heart_

_Even in decrescendo, our bond_

_Is infinitely in crescendo_

_If we have too fun a time, we might forget it_

_Hey, like a needle rushing over a record_

_Let's play for eternity_

_It's the 6th sense, special magic music_

_It's the 6th sense, great magic music!"_

* * *

The crowd applauded, mesmerized by the sounds of HTT. "We to play one more track before we give our introductions," Mio said. "This is called 'My Love Is A Stapler.' Enjoy."

* * *

_"How was it?_

_That night I had you on my mind_

_This feeling_

_I'll try writing it down in a letter_

_Perhaps_

_Maybe this is just a whim_

_But even so it's only a few sheets_

_I have to keep writing!_

_A calculated formula probably derived from love_

_I wish I had it and yet…_

_A sparkling request_

_And a messy worry_

_That's it! Let's bind them together with a stapler_

_It's just the beginning but I'm feeling light_

_Before I knew it, it was too thick_

_I can't put in anymore staples_

_Lala See you tomorrow_

_What should I do?_

_I reread it; It's embarrassing!_

_This and that_

_I wrote it all!_

_These feelings_

_Need to go into the trashcan_

_My chest aches_

_Maybe I should just hold onto them_

_I'll express my current feelings_

_I'll search for words not even in dictionaries_

_Completely excited plans and_

_And exhausted developments_

_Let's bind it all with a stapler_

_Remember today's events_

_My heart is always tightening_

_I no longer have any staples so I need to buy some more_

_Lala See you tomorrow_

_A sparkling request_

_And a messy worry_

_That's it! Let's bind them together with a stapler_

_It's just the beginning but I'm feeling light_

_Before I knew it I was too thick_

_I can't put in anymore staples_

_Lala See you tomorrow..."_

* * *

Another standing ovation from the crown before they took their seats again. "Thank you," Ui said. "I would like to introduce the members of this club, and our band. Ui Hirasawa, guitar."

"Mio Akiyama, bass."

"Ritsu Tainaka, drums."

"Tsumugi Kotobuki, keyboards."

"Azusa Nakano, guitar."

"We are HOKAGO TEA TIME!" they all said. Applause.

Ui went on, "Me, Mio-chan, Ricchan and Mugi-chan are all heading to Japan Women's University next year. I see some JWU students in the back, stand up!" They did, waving. "Hey you guys, thanks for coming out tonight. You'll be hearing us for quite some time. Also, Azusa, whom I called Azunyan because we like to put cat ears on her, is going to be the club's next president, so if any of you who are coming back, or who will be coming here, want to be a part of this and keep the club going..." Ui placed a reassuring hand on Azusa's shoulder, "...talk to her. But don't make a pass on her because she's already taken."

"Mio is still MAI WAIFU!" a fan from the Boys' Campus said.

"Sh...She's already taken too!" Ritsu exclaimed, triggering a headbump from Mio. The crowd laughed and applauded.

"You don't have to give it away like that, baby!" she retorted, to the oooha and owwws of the crowd.

"With that out of the way, let's go ahead and do another of our favorites. This is "Girls In Wonderland. Ricchan, count it!"

"1, 2, 3, 4!"

* * *

_"All fiction falls short to our Wonderland_

_When the five of us approach, it's bizarre_

_I've written the truth in my diary_

_Now I've read it and I can't calm down_

_It wasn't supposed to be this way!_

_These high school days are way too high_

_It's a very Fantastic World_

_But I'd gladly give in to a happy miscalculation_

_What will happen on the pages of tomorrow...!_

_I wonder what's written there_

_Today's heart and beat are already at their max_

_I've begun to think this way every day_

_The innovations of miracles are a bit scary, but I can't stop_

_Believe me_

_Our luck goes on!_

_No kind of art can depict our Funny Faces,_

_The faces determined by our five senses and honest emotions_

_Just like conversations, our photographs have piled up_

_Everyone's always giving the peace sign_

_That's the way it was!_

_We were fine even if we cried_

_It's a very Peaceful World_

_With our warm music and friends_

_What will happen with the finder of the future...!_

_I wonder what kind of faces and scenery will be reflected on us_

_Even if reality strikes hard against us_

_We'll just hum our favorite phrases_

_Singing only of courage and love,_

_We'll be fine_

_Our Dreams Will Come True!_

_I can only see what's in front of me, there's no turning back_

_Today I'll go on with all my might, simply surrounded by what I "love"_

_What will happen to us tomorrow!_

_No one knows_

_But we always sing "Oh yeah" "Take it easy"_

_What will happen to us tomorrow!_

_No one knows_

_But we always sing "Oh yeah" "Take it easy"_

_What will happen on the pages of tomorrow...!_

_I wonder what's written there_

_Today's heart and beat are already at their max_

_I've begun to think this way every day_

_The innovations of miracles are a bit scary, but I can't stop_

_Believe me_

_Our luck goes on!"_

* * *

The crowd applauded. "More, more, more!" They all chanted their initials, "H-T-T! H-T-T! H-T-T!

Ui nodded to the others, who nodded back. She turned to the crowd. "Cagayake! GIRLS!" A roar as they got started with the next piece.

* * *

_"Chatting Now_

_With grace we have a noisy and Never Ending Girls' Talk_

_We can't wait for the final bell!_

_Although we're late, skipping school is a No no no!_

_With all our might, we'll Study After School_

_My excitement wont' stop! Thoughts go at Full Throttle!_

_Wrap hope, desires, and passion with a ribbon!_

_Gather all the materials and immerse yourself in the New Type Version!_

_The book prohibited from the guys are our diary of Love!_

_If we shorten our skirts by 2cm, we can fly_

_further than yesterday, higher than the day before yesterday's Octave!_

_Jumping Now_

_With grace we have a wonderful Never Ending Girls' Life!_

_We must be serious every day or our Live will be now or never!_

_Although you wake up early, sleeping early is a No No No!_

_With all our might we're shouting Wasshoi!_

_With grace we have a wonderful and Never Ending Girls' Song!_

_Bring on afternoon Tea Time!_

_Even with unrequited love, with honorable defeat Here We Go!_

_If we sing we'll be Shining After School_

_Are we living too relaxed? We have trouble every day!_

_Differential and Integral Calculus are supplementary, so no love for now…_

_I sing for two hours, my stomach is a fourth dimension._

_Oh no! Suddenly I'm limited…"wait" was written in my secret book._

_I cut 3mm from my hair bangs and saw it,_

_although my test paper is completely white, it's ok if my future is Rose colored right?_

_Chatting Now_

_With grace we have a noisy and Never Ending Girls' Talk_

_We can't wait for the final bell!_

_Although we're late, skipping school is a No no no!_

_With all our might we Study to Enjoy!_

_With grace we have a wonderful and Never Ending Girls' Song!_

_Bring on afternoon Tea Time!_

_With an unusual Chord Here We Go!_

_If we sing we'll be Shining After School_

_We'll infinitely loop it!_

_Size down up down up,_

_but our mood is always_

_up up up & up!_

_Gathering just for smiles,_

_and singing only for happiness_

_…it fairly echoes tenderness to the world!_

_Jumping Now_

_With grace we have a wonderful Never Ending Girls' Life!_

_We must be serious every day or our Live will be now or never!_

_Although you wake up early, sleeping early is a No No No!_

_With all our might we're shouting Wasshoi!_

_With grace we have a wonderful and Never Ending Girls' Song!_

_Bring on afternoon Tea Time!_

_Even with unrequited love, with honorable defeat Here We Go!_

_If we sing we'll be Shining After School_

_So_

_Shining Shinier Shiniest_

_Girls be ambitious & shine!"_

* * *

More applause from the fans, who were treated to some cake from Paradiso before the concert.

"Time for a little Fude Pen Ballpoint Pen," Ui said to the masses as the band got a quick water break. "How about it?"

"YEAH!" they exclaimed.

"Let's do it! Ricchan!"

"1, 2, 3!"

* * *

_"Calligraphy Pen FU FU_

_Shivering FU FU_

_My first greeting card to you_

_Throbbing Passion_

_Overflowing Action_

_Maybe it's totally forced_

_Imagining your smile_

_I want to show you my good points_

_Tightly grasping on to my enthusiasm_

_I'll make you turn your head around!_

_Put in your love smoothly, okay? Well, let's start writing!_

_I wish this happiness could be intertwined with you who I accepted_

_Show me a spinning dream, okay? The letters are dancing_

_Do your best Calligraphy Pen; You've come this far_

_I'm really serious!_

_Calligraphy Pen FU FU_

_Maybe it's impossible FU FU_

_You might get broken but_

_Handwriting is your mission_

_It's really hot; this tension_

_Printing is just boring_

_Touching and stopping_

_This throbbing is really love, right?_

_From here on out I'm still counting on you, okay?_

_Decorate every single word!_

_The frolicking letters are sparkling! Look, it's so polished_

_If only I could reach straight towards your heart_

_The flowing loci are glittering! Until it dries,_

_Wait a second Calligraphy Pen; Sorry Ballpen_

_Have a good night_

_I'm really serious!_

_Imagining your smile_

_I want to show you my good points_

_Tightly grasping on to my enthusiasm_

_I'll make you turn your head around!_

_Put in your love smoothly, okay? Well, let's start writing!_

_I wish this happiness could be intertwined with you who I accepted_

_Show me a spinning dream, okay? The letters are dancing_

_Do your best Calligraphy Pen; You've come this far_

_I'm really serious!"_

* * *

The fans were swaying their arms to this songs, a sea of humanity that swelled.

"Time for something that our resident bassist, Mio Akiyama, wrote," Ui said to the masses. "We love writing music. It makes us feel like we're doing something right with our lives. And it's called Pure Pure Heart. Ricchan?"

"1, 2, 3!"

Tsumugi's piano led the way to the main melody, and Mio's soothing voice.

* * *

_"My head's filled with thoughts_

_I'm a little worried that they'll spill out_

_For now I'll just plug it up with my headphones_

_(Don't stop the music!)_

_I say I want the things I want_

_I say I want to do the things I want to do_

_But I also have words that I can't say_

_(Can't stop my heartbeat!)_

_Suddenly! My chance arrives_

_We just happened to take the same way home_

_Wow! The balloon in my chest swells_

_Suddenly my feet are floating in the air_

_Riding the updraft_

_Go fly! To where you are_

_My Pure Pure Heart_

_If you accept it I won't be scared_

_When these feelings passed through the atmosphere_

_I lost sight of you from the other side of the street_

_I don't mind_

_Studded in words of love_

_Songs should be honest_

_For no reason I hum and walk along_

_(Don't stop the music!)_

_A melody sweeter than cotton candy_

_A rhythm hotter than fireworks_

_Even though I can say I like the songs I like_

_(Can't stop my heartbeat!)_

_Surprise attack! Trouble has arrived_

_Maybe you heard me humming_

_No! This is the first time our eyes have met_

_I'm happy but embarrassed_

_I'm getting ready to run away – What should I do!_

_Run quickly! Onto the roadside_

_My trembling Pure Pure Heart_

_Somewhere high in that clear sky_

_Are the feelings of the fluffy, newborn clouds_

_I want to chase after you but the traffic light's red_

_I don't mind_

_Ah, turn up the volume_

_Look, I'll search for what makes my heart throb_

_We'll be able to meet here again and again_

_That's what I feel_

_Go fly! To where you are_

_My Pure Pure Heart_

_If you accept it I won't be scared_

_When these feelings passed through the atmosphere_

_I lost sight of you from the other side of the street_

_I don't mind!"_

* * *

The audience continued to lap up the melodies that commuters could hear kilometers away. Even a blimp was hanging over the school.

"This is another Mio Akiyama classic. It's called Listen!. Go, Ricchan!"

"1, 2!" A cadence led to one of the most tantalizing numbers of the line-up.

* * *

_"It's deep, deep inside my heart_

_In a sanctuary where nothing resonated_

_Heat, heat! It's on fire so I can't turn back_

_It's a shock, shock that I'll send you_

_Saying, "Hey, let's go everywhere together"_

_Rock, rock! The sound of storms and tsunami tempt each other_

_A dropped pick, a broken stick_

_It's not a problem at all_

_We're in the same sound, that's actually a miracle_

_We'll sing for how long we feel_

_No matter how quiet, this is the only song in the world_

_Even if I die today don't mourn_

_I want to live my life to the fullest_

_Release! Passionate_

_This is our Precious Heartbeat_

_We'll sing!_

_Non sweet, sweet! More than sweet words_

_Your true intentions feel better, right? That's a touch of mind_

_Wit, wit! It's fun to sing forever and always_

_Non stop, stop! Because my new feelings_

_Are hurrying from the light_

_Rock, rock! I need to catch them with sounds and tell you_

_A running rhythm, a crazed tuning_

_It's all in my assumptions_

_Choosing the same dream, that's the power for tomorrow_

_We'll shout it out loud even on a far off stage_

_Because no matter how scared we are, we're not alone_

_It doesn't matter if it's unfinished_

_I want to play seriously_

_Reach! Truthfulness_

_Finally we could meet, this is our Treasured Heartbeat_

_We want to know…to live…to love_

_Make the countless prayers heard,_

_Turn them into wings so that they can fly high_

_We'll sing for how long we feel_

_No matter how quiet, this is the only song in the world_

_Even if I die today don't mourn_

_I want to live my life to the fullest_

_Release! Passionate_

_This is our Precious Heartbeat_

_We'll sing! Treasure Heartbeat_

_Listen!"_

* * *

The crowd was jumping and dancing to that number, waving their flags and scarves and t-shirts. Some were even dancing mosh-pit style.

"You like that, huh?" Ui said.

"YEAH!" they crowd roared.

"I love you, Ui!" said a fan in the front.

"I love you, too," she replied, blowing a kiss. The fan fainted. "Anyway, this is a song dedicated to Strawberry Parfaits. It's called 'The Strawberry Parfaits Don't Stop'. Ricchan!"

"1, 2, 3!"

* * *

_"A hug between vanilla and strawberry -_

_They're a pair that fits better than anyone._

_Lovely, happy!_

_Whipped cream like pure white lace,_

_So sweet that it puts me in trance…_

_Soft and wavy!_

_I have to hurry before it melts._

_I have to give nourishment to my heart._

_The taste of today's dream is perfect._

_It flows through my body, that Sweet Sweet Berry Sauce._

_It's the force that drives our hot Girl's Talk._

_More to come! Joy! Joy!_

_I tried my best, so I'll give myself a reward._

_Let's try hard again!_

_The strawberry parfaits just don't stop!_

_Pressed hard against the glass bowl,_

_The sparkling and heart throbbing are packed in._

_A marbled pattern!_

_Cornflakes, don't get in the way!_

_The coolness of the brain freeze_

_Feels nice._

_It's a seasonal food._

_Don't worry about calories._

_With the speed of a flicker of light, lick, lick!_

_I only respond to delicious things._

_I have an antenna – hey, I'm a girl!_

_More, more! Taste! Taste!_

_There's another stomach for dessert! It's not a puzzle._

_It's a complete black hole, you know._

_I, I, I just can't stop myself!_

_It flows through my body, that Sweet Sweet Berry Sauce._

_It's the force that drives our hot Girl's Talk._

_More to come! Joy! Joy!_

_I tried my best, so I'll give myself a reward._

_Let's try hard again!_

_The strawberry parfaits just don't stop!"_

* * *

"Can you girls buy me a parfait!" pleaded a salaryman in his 30's wearing an HTT shirt. His pants were shot.

"We'll spot you one after the show," Mio said.

"We're going to keep going with the dessert theme here," Ui said to the crowd. "This song is called 'Honey Sweet Tea Time,' and was written by our keyboardist Tsumugi Kotobuki. Ricchan, go for it!"

"1, 2, 3!"

* * *

_"The honey-colored afternoon is passing by_

_Honey sweet tea time_

_The honey-colored afternoon is passing by_

_Honey sweet tea time_

_A macaron airship-_

_The clock is a langue de chat-_

_Let's set off for where my heart will feel a throb_

_Under the sky where smiles blossom_

_Curiosity in maxi singles_

_Will overflow_

_Earth is a candy box_

_With an equator-colored ribbon_

_It's packed with dreams_

_How does the honey-colored afternoon taste?_

_Honey sweet tea time_

_How does the honey-colored afternoon taste?_

_Honey sweet tea time_

_A galette parking-_

_A feral cat sachertorte-_

_Today is the day to start what I wanted to do_

_In the city where I spilled the paint of light_

_All of the things reflected in my eyes_

_Are a recipe for the future_

_The world wrapped in sky-blue_

_Is a gift_

_Is it okay to open it?_

_If you're lost on the road_

_Let's have tea_

_Put your wishes into the caddy spoon_

_Put your suffering into the teapot_

_Stirring my feelings around from side to side_

_Worries and confusion are melting way_

_I hope that tomorrow will certainly be sunny, too_

_Under the sky where smiles blossom_

_Curiosity in maxi singles_

_Will overflow_

_Earth is a candy box_

_With an equator-colored ribbon_

_Let's eat it_

_In the city where I spilled the paint of light_

_All of the things reflected in my eyes_

_Are a recipe for the future_

_The world wrapped in sky-blue_

_Is a gift_

_It's okay to open it!"_

* * *

The crowd didn't want the music to stop one bit.

"Time for us to change the pace one more time and play you one we wrote as first-years," Tsumugi said. "This is called 'Happy! Sorry!"

"Ricchan," Ui said, "you know what to do."

"1, 2, 1-2-3-4!"

* * *

_"Wanna wanna, a desire is born in our hearts_

_Scribble scribble, running wild 'round the corner of the notepad_

_Then we put 'em together so they don't run off all over the place_

_The dream is to make it up, we just have to sing it afterwards_

_D'you know it feels kinda awesome when you take off your school uniform?_

_But of course it's still awesome if you keep it on_

_Goin' crazy, whoops~ are the fruits of your labor a major one?_

_Minor?_

_You can do anything when you ride the lines of the musical score_

_Don't even think about blinking, lookie look at the whole thing_

_Got caught into traps? But that's our specialty_

_(Join us, join us)_

_Clang clang, playin' a stray tune tryin' to find the exit_

_(Listen, listen)_

_Ya don't have to scramble out and about because_

_(Our dreams come true)_

_There's a great way to turn your dreams into reality_

_(Secret, secret)_

_If lessons are one hour each, why's the afterschool only a second long?_

_We bloom and get pretty Yamato Nadeshiko Forever_

_You can go anywhere when you ride the lines of the musical score_

_There's no time to be lame so come come, follow us_

_Are we too happy! Sorry! We'll be done after singing this out_

_The happy phrases the limitless refrain_

_Are we too happy! Sorry! Ride on, even if it's your first time_

_We're goin' freestyle soon as you follow the beat, we'll be friends_

_You can do anything when you ride the lines of the musical score_

_Even on such a normal day, how... how exciting!_

_Are we too happy! Sorry! Ride on, even if you're in a bad mood_

_Flash a smile, please it's a recovery in unison_

_Are we too happy! Sorry! We'll be done after singing this out_

_The happy phrases the limitless refrain!"_

* * *

The fans were enjoying that one to the hilt. "And now, it's time for a little Go! Go! Maniac," Ui said. "Let's do this. Ricchan."

"We're getting a workout from this," she said. "Thank God for Red Bull. 1, 2, 3, 4!"

* * *

_"No way! I can't stop and I won't stop_

_Singing so loud noon or night or morning_

_Just doing the things I like the Girls Go Maniac_

_That kind of melody and these kinds of lyrics_

_I want to search for more and more_

_Let's do it together and take a chance, chance on our wishes_

_Jump, jump and raise it up_

_Let's shout, shout our fun, fun feelings_

_If we make a mistake let's rehearse, one more time!_

_The microcosm that everyone carries called the heart_

_Is tightly packed with human emotions and love_

_Dejectedly and nervously busy_

_Let's sing about these chaotic and fully loaded days_

_Let's let it out_

_Even during class I unconsciously research musicianship_

_It's OK on the air to suddenly break the important mood with a shredding rhythm_

_We'll communicate completely with our beats and minds and freely enjoy this_

_Having fun is my victory_

_Sorry! I can't hand it over and I won't hand it over_

_Swinging around vertically, horizontally and diagonally_

_Just making my favorite sounds the Girls Go Maniac_

_That kind of groove and this kind of reverb_

_I want to try it forever and ever_

_Match your breathing with mine and chase, chase after tomorrow_

_Dream of break, break_

_With firm faith, faith let's shake, shake and have some fun_

_If you take a bath you won't be able to forget, applaud!_

_In reality it's becoming seriously strange like a novel_

_Even if we are just doing nothing we'll bump into each other_

_It's funny when my chest tightens and tightens_

_Is this what's called fate? Then let's indulge ourselves_

_With all our might let's get better at it_

_Even before tests as always I can't tear up our friendship_

_Even though we haven't promised we accidentally get together after school_

_Where else would the members gather but the stage?_

_You can hear, right? Count_

_Naturally let out a smile so smile, okay?_

_I'm stepping out now whether it's spring, summer or autumn_

_Just being with the people I like Girls Go Maniac_

_That kind of drumming and this kind of cutting_

_Please, please I want you take it_

_Look at my eyes and tune, tune our hearts_

_Amuse, amuse repeatedly_

_Loose, loose and loosen up and shoot, shoot and polish our technique_

_You can keep on going, practically!_

_The adults say this but we only do the things we like_

_They say that's it's no good but is that so! I wonder?_

_Hey, what if what we like becomes our preoccupation, huh?_

_That's the feeling called living…and I'm happy…So no way._

_Or rather there's no way I'll become no good._

_Yeah right! I can't stop and I won't stop_

_Singing so loud noon or night or morning_

_Just doing the things I like the Girls Go Maniac_

_That kind of melody and these kinds of lyrics_

_I want to search for more and more_

_Let's do it together and take a chance, chance on our wishes_

_Jump, jump and raise it up_

_Shout, shout our fun, fun feelings more_

_Take a chance, chance on our wishes and jump, jump and raise it up_

_Let's shout, shout our fun, fun feelings_

_It feels great so yeah, we'll have an encore, one more time!_

_Oh My God! No No music, No smile_

_Oh My God! No No friends, No life_

_All Right! No No No stop going our way_

_We have a fabulous BODY, SOUL & LOVE_

_No No music, No smile_

_Oh My God! No No friends, No life_

_All Right! No No No stop going our way_

_We have a fabulous BODY, SOUL & LOVE!_

_No No music, No smile_

_Oh My God! No No friends, No life_

_All Right! No No No stop going our way_

_We have a fabulous BODY, SOUL & LOVE!_

_No No music, No smile_

_Oh My God! No No friends, No life_

_All Right! No No No stop going our way_

_We have a fabulous BODY, SOUL & LOVE!"_

* * *

Everyone was in awesome of Ui's and Azusa's righteous tapping technique on that number. They were together, as one, and they enjoyed playing that number to the hilt.

"How many of you realize that this is being broadcast on TV?" Ui asked the audience. They all roared, meaning that they knew they were being taped. "We'll go take a 15-minute break then continue on with more of our music. Thank you all for coming!"

As the fans went over to a number of makeshift concession stands on the quad, Ui bought some Gatorade for everyone backstage. "Man, that was exhausting."

"And that was one-half of the set we're going to perform," Ritsu said. "For some reason, I don't feel tired at all."

"I think I'm ready to do a little bit more," Ui said.

"Ui, this feels like I'm floating in heaven!" Azusa said, tears still coming out of her eyes. "To play in front of so many people...it's a dream come true!"

"Azusa, are you better now?" Ui said, embracing her.

She looked at her ring. "To think that I will be married to you...when I am with you, Ui...I am full of energy."

"That's what I want to hear!"

"Hey you guys," Sawako said, heading over to them.

"Miss Sawako," Ui said.

"So you folks are doing one more show, huh?"

"Yep!"

"Good luck. You're doing great so far. Although I wonder if you will be all right playing 25 songs?"

"We will. After all, we drank Red Bull before we got here, right?"

"Yeah!" they all said, fists in the air.

Sawako smiled. "All right. Thanks a lot."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's go!" Ritsu exclaimed.

"Yeah!" And so the five of them got back on stage to begin their final set of music, starting with "Tokimeki Sugar."

"1-2-3-4!" Ritsu counted down. A bass beat, the melody, and Mio's voice for something she wrote herself.

* * *

_"Caramel sauce for you, dearest_

_Granulated sugar, brown sugar_

_Caramel sauce for you, dearest_

_Maple, honey, fine-grain sugar_

_Caramel sauce just for you_

_My heart is also caramel sauce_

_Even if it gets a little burned_

_Your flame will make it delicious_

_I'm a pastry chef of love_

_For you, who's moderately sweet_

_I'll make a homemade sauce_

_Even though I've been watching you all along_

_Why haven't you noticed?_

_If you want a taste, just say so, okay?_

_You've got some on your cheek!_

_My true feelings are custard pudding_

_The secret hidden flavor is throbbing sugar_

_My true feelings are custard pudding_

_Brown sugar syrup, thin sugar, manuka honey_

_Why has this caramel sauce become bittersweet?_

_I'll just fix it with some more sugar_

_Since I don't have a measuring spoon_

_I'll season it myself and make it delicious_

_I'm a pastry chef with a sweet tooth_

_Just thinking about you_

_Saturates my heart_

_But, you see, where I am right now_

_I don't plan to use my voice_

_If I dream an extremely sweet dream_

_I'll be happy tonight_

_I've got everything sweet inside the cupboard_

_It can't be beat once I boil it down_

_Heartbeat bittersweet_

_Fantasy eternity_

_Dizzy dizzy sympathy, I'm feeling it!_

_Just 'cause..._

_I'm a pastry chef of love_

_For you, who's moderately sweet_

_I'll make a homemade sauce_

_Even though I've been watching you all along_

_Why haven't you noticed?_

_If you want a taste, just say so!_

_I'm a pastry chef of love_

_Just thinking about you_

_Saturates my heart_

_Someday we'll meet eye to eye_

_And at that time, my concoction will be ready_

_It'll be the most delicious thing ever_

_You've got some on your cheek!"_

* * *

Fans were given bags of sugar during the number.

"Here is another song by Mio-chan," Ui said. "We must tell you this important word of advice: Don't Say Lazy. Ricchan!"

"1-2" A cadence, and straight to the melody.

* * *

_"Please don't' say "You are lazy"_

_because I'm actually crazy!_

_The swans, that's right_

_what you can't see is that they thrash about when swimming!_

_I'm obedient and loyal to my instincts, I'll even accept being made fun of!_

_A bright future is offered to me…_

_that's why I take a break once in a while._

_With these eyes I'll confirm_

_my destination and Mark it on my map!_

_If there's a shortcut, that would be easier,_

_if there's are wings to make it even shorter, it would be great!_

_Damn! I broke a nail, so I fixed it with glue._

_With that I somehow I got a feeling of achievement._

_The important thing is to love oneself,_

_if you don't love yourself, you won't love other people._

_Please don't say "You are lazy"_

_because I'm actually crazy!_

_Skilled hawks, that's right,_

_they hide their talons!_

_I try hard to imagine it, but reality drives me up into a corner…_

_I'm midway to development…_

_that's why I suddenly go out of pitch._

_It won't be projected in my eyes because_

_my Motivation breaks the Meter…_

_I always dream with all my power,_

_but in return, I sleep with all my power._

_I lost a bit of weight…in my excitement, I ate…_

_Why did that happen? I feel defeated…_

_Without any delay, I lower my own objectives._

_I'm flexible enough to adapt…my Kabuki dance will win!_

_Please don't say "You are lazy"_

_because I'm actually crazy!_

_The peacocks, that's right,_

_they say "This is it!" when they are enchanted by beauty!_

_I struggle and push for my whole body to lose weight…to be a beauty,_

_though, there are lots of temptations…_

_that's why I desperately break my will._

_Damn! Don't tell me…a Red Point! No, barely cleared it!_

_With that I feel omnipotent!_

_The important thing is to accept oneself,_

_if you don't forgive yourself, you won't be able to forgive other people!_

_Please don't' say "You are lazy"_

_because I'm actually crazy!_

_The swans, that's right_

_what you can't see is that they thrash about when swimming!_

_I'm obedient and loyal to my instincts, I'll even accept being made fun of!_

_A bright future is offered to me…_

_that's why I take a break once in a while."_

* * *

"Don't Say Lazy! Don't Say Lazy!" the fans chanted, waving their flags.

"Time to change the pace again," Ui said to everyone. "Wanna hear a little Fuyu No Hi?" The roar was loud. "Damn, that was loud." The band laughed. "All right! Fuyu No Hi! Winter Days! Written by Mio Akiyama, dedicated to Ritsu Tainaka. And Ricchan...why do you have your hairband off?"

"Because I want to try it," she said. Some of the fans fainted, their noses bleeding. "Here we go!"

* * *

_"No matter how cold it is, I feel happiness._

_White breaths put a bounce in my step, and I run out when I catch sight of you._

_Your evenly styled hair really suits you,_

_But I'd also like to see you with your bangs down._

_What words should I start with when I talk to you?_

_It should be fine to start with, "I love you!"_

_The fluttering snow is like my dancing feelings._

_It kind of makes me happy._

_In this city that shines with such a brilliant white,_

_I want to walk with you. If we hold hands, that would be nice._

_Your mischievous smile really suits you,_

_But I'd also like to see you embarrassed with your cheeks red._

_Why won't the words come out of my mouth?_

_Let's look it up in the dictionary._

_The falling snow is like my unstopping feelings._

_It gives me a little bit of pain._

_Deep inside of my heart,_

_I'll take in a deep breath._

_I feel like my chest has been hurting more and more,_

_But I've noticed that I think about you just as much._

_Just as I thought._

_We're going to the usual place tomorrow._

_I'll be waiting when you run to me._

_Hey, it feels like waiting for the first snow._

_Be even more lively!_

_What words should I start with when I talk to you?_

_It should be fine to start with, "I love you!"_

_The fluttering snow is like my dancing feelings._

_It kind of makes me happy."_

* * *

The fans were waving their glow sticks and cell phones. Throughout the shows, the flashbulbs were coming out.

Ritsu put her hairband on as Mio gave her a kiss. Ritsu responded with a flourish of her drums. The crowd responded with a cheer.

"I feel like boogieing the night away," Azusa said.

"Boogie?" Tsumugi asked.

"Yes, time to boogie with another one by Mio. It's the 'Sweet Bitter Beauty Song!' Get up and dance! Clap your hands! Ricchan!"

"1-2-3-4!"

The crowd got on their feet, clapped their hands and danced as Ui started it off.

* * *

_"Life's a very Sweet & Bitter Beauty Song_

_So, what are you gonna sing?_

_"Go Ahead" or "Back"... "Right" or "Left"_

_There's a choice to be made every moment you get_

_Despite your calm face, strangely you... nah, actually you look quite serious_

_Life's a very Sweet & Bitter Beauty Song_

_You go tail-waggin' like a dog trying to please everyone_

_('Cause) you can't live like a rebel even when you're told you'll lose out_

_You're an sensitivity-conscious teenager but your heart troubles you_

_By beating fast and thrashing about so easily_

_Aren't we all standing on the same stage?_

_...and hey just saying that kinda lifts our courage, eh?_

_With a low range or a high one_

_Everyone's saying what they wanna say using their best voices singing so loud_

_Choose "Friend" or "Love"... (Going) "Light" or "Deep"_

_All these feelings and emotions, you'd pass out to the panic they can do_

_Behind your happy face you're hurting inside_

_Life's a very Sweet & Bitter Beauty Song_

_You go clawin' like a cat trying to protect yourself_

_(So) you still can't walk straight and fall over so many times it's embarrassing_

_You're a meticulously delicate teenager but without notice your eardrums_

_Vibrate and shake furiously_

_Can't we all cry to the same song?_

_Though we know it's different people, different taste_

_Low or high, take any temperature you want but_

_Everyone hurts when they get burnt shouting so loud_

_Aren't we all standing on the same stage?_

_...and hey just saying that kinda lifts our courage, eh?_

_With a low range or a high one_

_Everyone's saying what they wanna say using their best voices singing so loud_

_Can't we all smile to the same song?_

_Though we know it's different people, different taste_

_Brash or gentle, rude or dignified_

_Everyone's holding onto only their true feelings shouting so loud_

_Life's a very Sweet & Bitter Beauty Song_

_Life's a very Sweet & Bitter Beauty Song_

_Life's a very Sweet & Bitter Beauty Song_

_So, what are you gonna sing?"_

* * *

The crowd chanted their name as they applauded. "HOKAGO! HOKAGO! HOKAGO!"

"Thank you,' Ui said. "Let's go ahead and play another one of our favorites here. Kira Kira Days. Ricchan..."

"1, 2, 1-2-3-4!"

This was written by the Hirasawa sisters.

* * *

_"A treasure chest filled with this and that, little things_

_When did I lose it? It's disappeared somewhere_

_Beads, charms, candles, ribbon, soap bubbles and clovers_

_But, you see, a real treasure chest is inside my heart_

_I've become aware of an everlasting treasure just by being near everyone_

_It's strange, fun, pleasant, delicious, cute and lovely_

_Perhaps we're supposed to cherish the day, every day_

_Time's passing by in fast forward – it may be wrong but I can't wait for tomorrow_

_Just being like this is great; it's fine as it is_

_I'll sing my favorite songs and have hot tea with everyone_

_These are treasured days; dazzling, shining days_

_It's written in the music score of the heart, where there are infinite riff marks_

_Let's go forth with loud voices and share them...that's bliss!_

_One, two, three years; even after a hundred years I can't be stopped_

_It's my dream to dance and make some noise on-stage anywhere_

_At the school festival, athletic festival, training camp; during live events, camping, Christmas_

_From the classroom window I can see outer space, become a bird, become a star_

_At this moment we're sending out sparks; even the wind is awakening from this hot melody_

_Just being like that is great; it's fine as it is_

_Even though we're ordinary girls, we're stars! We'll excessively praise each other_

_These are treasured days, days when we cried and laughed together_

_The music score of life is constantly changing key, but we'll be fine_

_Since it's wrapped in lots of love...thank you!_

_If we hadn't met by chance that day, what would today be like?_

_Would I be reading at the convenience store on the way home? Maybe eating fast food alone? Maybe taking an afternoon nap?_

_Just being like this is great; it's fine as it is_

_We'll give it our all when playing our music, stuff ourselves with sweets_

_These are treasured days; dazzling, shining days_

_It's written in the music score of the heart, where there are infinite riff marks_

_Let's go forth with loud voices and share them...that's bliss!"_

* * *

The crowd loved that piece, and they serenaded the band. "We love you, we love you, we love you, and where you go, we'll follow, we'll follow, we'll follow, cause we support the tea time, the tea time, the tea time, and that's the way we like it, we like it, we like it..."

"Thanks a lot for that," Ui said as the band heard the chant. "Let's switch the pace one more time with this piece. It's one Mio wrote. It's called 'Samidare 20 Love.' Ricchan?"

"1-2-3!"

"Clap your hands and get up on your feet!" Ui said. They all did.

* * *

_"The raindrops begin to fall. Somehow, they're kind of pretty._

_They seem like soda water; they put an end to the city's yawning._

_Count out three drops – I'll catch the big ones on my forehead._

_The rain strikes up a conversation with me._

_I'm sure the fifth drop means a little bird's mini-tiara._

_That's right, the seventh drop means a power line's pendant and chain._

_Eight drops – on my eyelashes. The ninth drop is a dance with flowers._

_Maybe I've fallen in love. With the tenth drop, I still don't know._

_Twenty, love._

_It's still faint._

_This dream is a watercolor picture,_

_But the pen that draws the rainbow_

_Is inside my heart._

_Don't let your teardrops fall down; no one has an umbrella._

_Softly, the rain washes away the footprints from a second ago._

_In just a little, there'll be eighteen drops. The dots seem like jewels._

_Maybe I'll know whether or not love will go on when there are twenty._

_With a flash,_

_I want to give_

_A light to this dream,_

_So the hands that split up the rain clouds_

_Come out of my pockets._

_Twenty, love._

_It's still faint._

_This dream is a watercolor picture,_

_But the pen that draws the rainbow_

_Is inside my heart._

_With a flash,_

_I want to give_

_A light to this dream,_

_So the hands that split up the rain clouds_

_Come out of my pockets."_

* * *

Arms were swaying to the melody of that number. Fans were jumping and flags were waving.

"Here is a song that I wrote, extolling the virtues of rice. It's Gohan wa Okazu. Rice Is A Side Dish. Enjoy. Ricchan!"

"1-2-3-4!"

* * *

_"Rice is amazing. It goes with anything. Warm, warm!_

_Ramen, udon, okonomiyaki and such and such._

_It's a dream collaboration,_

_Between carbohydrates and carbohydrates?_

_(Hot, hot! Warm, warm!)_

_Rice is amazing. It's a pain to not have any._

_Instead rice will be the side dish._

_For Kansai people of course it has to be okonomiyaki & rice._

_But I'm not from Kansai._

_(What!)_

_1-2-3-4-GO-HA-N!_

_1-2-3-4-GO-HA-N!_

_Rice is amazing. It goes with anything. Warm, warm!_

_Kimchi, natto, raw eggs and such and such._

_White rice is a pure white canvas,_

_For an Infinite imagination._

_(Hot, hot! Warm, warm!)_

_Rice is amazing. It's a pain to not have any._

_Of course rice is the staple food._

_For Japanese people anyway, it should be rice instead of bread._

_"Rice isn't a side dish!"_

_"Ah…I kinda forgot~"_

_"Hey!"_

_Rice is amazing. It goes with anything. Warm, warm!_

_Yakisoba, takoyaki, tonpeiyaki and such and such._

_It's a dream collaboration,_

_Between carbohydrates and carbohydrates?_

_(Hot, hot! Warm, warm! Go, go!)_

_Rice is amazing. It's a pain to not have any._

_Instead rice will be the side dish._

_For Kansai people of course it has to be okonomiyaki & rice._

_I was from Kansai in a past life!_

_(What!)_

_1-2-3-4-GO-HA-N!_

_1-2-3-4-GO-HA-N!_

_1-2-3-4-GO-HA-N!_

_1-2-3-4-GO-HA-N!"_

* * *

Fans were given souvenir blue and white striped bowls during this number. "This is another of our gifts to you, apparently," Ui said. "Wow. We're giving away so many."

"Oh my God," Mio exclaimed. "It's that...I don't want to see it."

"It's a just a rice bowl, what else?"

'But...the stripes..."

"Maybe this will cheer you up. A little 'Utauyo! MIRACLE' should do the trick. It's what Dr. Ui recommends. Let's do it. Ricchan?"

"1, 2, 3!"

A drumbeat, a bass melody, and a few strums was the segue to this classic, penned by Ui.

* * *

_"I love everyone!_

_It goes on forever. Lu La La Miracle Sing Time._

_I sing and sing to convey my love the best I can._

_Even if the song sucks, even if the lyrics are questionable,_

_I want to deliver my soul with all my heart._

_What should I do? Things are being decided for me automatically._

_I can't keep up with the schedule._

_I have so many dreams and things I want to do that I have to dash through the halls to catch them all._

_Sorry for the bad manners! But I don't mind the way I look._

_I get too immersed in playing. Then it lit up. Perhaps this is youth._

_ever ever…Forever Shine_

_I really love it!_

_The tension keeps rising. Lu La La Powerful Gig Time._

_We have a genius searching for excited hearts._

_Even if others go "Huh!", even if I keep messing up,_

_I want to release my overflowing bravery._

_I challenge with a tremolo and she responds with a flam._

_It's great, it's great. Ain't it great!_

_Happiness is something we always feel in the present._

_Girls, live strong with your bare instincts._

_Surely I have more important matters other than homework_

_Like after school tea, chatting and practice._

_Humorously and naturally, I laugh so hard that my stomach hurts._

_Excellent, I've found the trick! But do I still have weak riffs?_

_Want to help me with some special training? It's almost time to call it quits but I don't want to go home._

_never never…Can't Say Good-bye_

_I love you to pieces!_

_Excellently from the bottom of my heart, Lu La La Wonderful Show Time._

_We'll play and play our music as we like._

_Even if we don't have an audience to give us a standing ovation,_

_I want to play in this real instance._

_"Yesterday's regrets" and "Tomorrow's worries"_

_To put it bluntly without holding back, who gains what?_

_Luck is something we always catch in the present._

_Go for it girls! Ask, and it shall be given to you._

_We're not really taught lessons that aren't written in any book._

_But I won't ever forget,_

_This miracle I thought that didn't exist in this world. If we sing together,_

_I can believe that we'll become stronger._

_I love everyone!_

_It goes on forever. Lu La La Miracle Sing Time._

_I sing and sing to convey my love the best I can._

_Even if the song sucks, even if the lyrics are questionable,_

_I want to deliver my soul and full-sized life with all my heart._

_Does today feel like yesterday? Will tomorrow feel like today?_

_It's fine, it's fine. If it's fun it'll feel just right._

_A rocker is always best being mischievous in the present._

_Girls, move forward and embrace your wishes._

_Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the love!_

_We'll sing, we'll sing, we'll sing today with all our hearts!_

_Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the love!_

_We'll sing, we'll sing, we'll sing forever with love!"_

* * *

"Miracle! Miracle! Miracle!" the fans chanted, never getting enough of the band.

"Time to pump this up with one Mio wrote," Ui said to the band.

"You have been wonderful tonight," Tsumugi said. "Today was our graduation. How many of you were there?"

They all raised their hands.

"You were just there because you were queuing up, right? Guilty as charged!" Ritsu said.

"Anyway, we appreciate you coming to our show," Azusa said. "We didn't expect to play this much, but we felt it was our duty. So thank you."

"This song is one of my favorites," Mio said. "It's called NO Thank You!. Mugi?"

"Yes, ma'am!" A few presses of her keyboard, followed by Azusa's guitar, and the rest joined in. The band's flag flew at its proudest from the pole in this number.

* * *

_"We jostle each other around the whiteboard_

_Making graffiti of our free wishes_

_Even if the after school chime echoes in the setting sun_

_You can't diss the power to dream, unfortunately_

_Let's sing with a louder, louder, louder voice_

_Carry hope on your lips_

_Every time when you release words, they turn into light_

_They're our pieces_

_I don't need memories_

_Because I firmly and deeply love "now"_

_Getting immersed in my memories is a sweet, adult-like luxury_

_But not yet…I want to hold back from it_

_Drawing wildly with a marker in the notebook of my heart_

_It only has points about how I feel like crying when I get pushed_

_When I'm with everyone, pain and joy_

_Stick in me with an infinite reverb, how strange_

_Let's fly always, always, always to the yonder_

_Our ambition can't wait for the countdown in the tailwind_

_Every time when I mark the beats, they turn platinum_

_They're our wings_

_I don't need promises_

_Because no one can live besides "now"_

_Desiring promises is an innocent, child-like frailty_

_I've already long since…graduated from it_

_Forever, at any place, I'll certainly keep listening_

_Even though I don't even need eternity, why can't I seem to lose it?_

_Our Splendid Songs_

_Let's sing more, more, more, even if our voices grow hoarse_

_Praise this moment with your lips_

_Having maps with the same routes, we were able to encounter each other_

_It's our bond_

_NO, Thank You! I don't need memories_

_Because I firmly and deeply love "now"_

_Getting immersed in my memories is a sweet, adult-like luxury_

_But not yet…I want to hold back from it!"_

* * *

The Mio Fan Club was squealing with delight as she song. Some were fainting from the pleasure of her sex appeal, an enduring attribute.

"This song was written by my sister, Yui, who is at home preparing dinner for me along with Mom and Dad," Ui said. "It's called U&I. Ricchan."

A flourish, and the penultimate number in the concert began.

* * *

_"When U're not around I can't do anything._

_I want to eat Ur food._

_When U come back,_

_I'll cling to U with a super smile._

_When U're not around I can't apologize._

_I want to hear Ur voice._

_Being able to see Ur smile is all I need._

_U always gave me courage just by being by my side._

_I want to be together forever._

_I want to tell U these feelings._

_Whether rain or shine,_

_U stayed by my side._

_If I close my eyes I see Ur radiant smile._

_When U're not around I don't understand anything._

_Where's the sugar and soy sauce?_

_When U come back,_

_I thought I'd surprise U and yet…_

_Unconsciously I act spoiled towards U,_

_Since U're too kind._

_I receive so much from U without being able to give back._

_Obviously I thought about how U stayed by my side._

_I thought that such days,_

_Would continue forever and ever._

_I'm sorry; I've only just realized it now._

_It's something that's not so obvious._

_First I'll start by telling U,_

_"Thanks."_

_I wonder, has it reached Ur heart? I don't have any confidence right now but,_

_Don't laugh and just listen,_

_Because I put my thoughts into a song._

_I want to place all my "Thanks"_

_Into a song and send it to U._

_I will never ever forget these feelings._

_My thoughts, reach!"_

* * *

The fans applauded, whistling. "U&I! U&I! U&I!" they chanted. Some in the crowd were crying as such a touching song.

"Before we close out our concert, we want to thank so many people. We want to thank our instructor and club advisor, Miss Sawako Yamanaka, for her support. To Class 3-2, thank you for your support and friendship. To the staff and faculty of this school, thank you for your time and effort in giving us the skills and knowledge we need to survive in this world. To the members of my band, thank you for your hard work and your friendship that is strong, broad and deep. To our pet turtle, Ton-chan, we hope you grow big and strong and help bring pride to our school. And to the fans..." They roared. "Thank you for coming out today! You were fantastic!" Another roar. "I see some of our fellow graduates! Wave!" All of Class 3-2 was at the front. They didn't leave; they just wanted to stand in line.

"Thank you very much for your support of our school, and our us and our music!" Mio said, smiling.

"We are one of the best, and it's all thanks to you!" Ritsu added. "Forever yours, forever HTT!"

"Without you, we wouldn't be standing on this stage," said Tsumugi, sniffling a bit.

Azusa had tears of joy in her eyes as she clutched Muttan, the angelic smile never going away. "Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts."

"We're going to play this song," Ui said, "which we dedicated to Azusa, but we also want to dedicate this to the senior class. This is also your song. It's called 'Tenshi ni Fureta Yo!' I Touched An Angel!"

Ritsu counted off with her sticks, and they played their number. Feathers flew down from the roof, and the wind blew them into the crowd on the athletic field.

* * *

"Encore! Encore! Encore!" the fans chanted.

"Should we do one more?" Ui asked the band.

"Yeah!" They still had more in the tank.

"Sakuragaoka's alma mater, done our way." They nodded. "Time for us to play one more for you. This is our alma mater! Ricchan!"

"1-2!" And the finale began. The band's final duty to their alma mater.

* * *

_"Looking towards the clear blue sky, we give thanks to you,_

_In pursuit of our hopes and our dreams, to mater we'll be true,_

_And all your sons and daughters dear gather round to strive_

_Under the fragrant cherry blossoms of Sakuragaoka High._

_Where the peaks of mountains tall watch upon your name,_

_Spirit of charity, faith and hope, alma mater's fame._

_We live to learn and learn to live, for the future's nigh_

_Under the watch of alma mater, dear Sakuragaoka High!_

_Though we may depart this place, we'll, with hearts and hands,_

_Work as one to bring love and peace all across the lands._

_But we will always think of you, till our last goodbye._

_All hail our dear old alma mater, fair Sakuragaoka High!_

_All hail our dear old alma mater, fair Sakuragaoka High!"_

* * *

Thousands and thousands of cherry blossom petals rained down on the crowd as fireworks rang out into the sky. The crowd gave a rousing, standing ovation. And for the band, the tears came flowing down. Azusa hugged Ui tightly. She was the one overcome with emotion the most. It was a huge transformation: from sadness and despair, to happiness and elation. Only one person could do some much to change her perspective on life. It was Ui, and no one else.

* * *

The band moved their instruments back to the music room, where they packed up all their instruments and placed them in their cases. The concert was the most-watched even for the evening time slot in Japan, and set a new high for the Tokyo market. After finishing their tea and dessert, they moved their instruments down the hall to where they changed their shoes

"If we didn't have that Red Bull," said Ui, "we would have been done for. But man, now our clothes are all saturated with sweat."

"25 songs and an encore is a bit brutal, but we got it done," Mio said. "That is a true professional concert right there."

"Good work, you guys," Tsumugi said to them.

"We wanted to go off with a bang, and we did," Ritsu said to them.

"Everyone, thank you so very much," Azusa said. "I love you all. And you too...Ui."

"Love you too, babe. So I guess this is it, huh?" Mr. Tainaka and Satoshi were there to help pack the drums in the van to send home

"Yeah, this is it," Ritsu said. "Ui, I hope we make Japan Women's University proud! They need our power!"

"Okay, calm down, calm down, Ritsu," Mio said to her.

"I hope to see you guys down there in a few days," Tsumugi said.

Miss Sawako and Jun came over. "Miss Sawako," Ui said.

"You guys ready to be on your way?" the teacher asked them.

"We have to now," Ui said, as the others placed their brooches away.

"It's already night," Jun said, looking at the stars in the sky. "Pretty. And clear."

"Ui, Azusa, Mugi, we'll see you later!" Ritsu said to them as she and Mio went over to Mr. Tainaka's van, where he would drop Mio at her house.

"Take care," Mugi said. "I'm gonna be on my way too." She hugged them all before leaving, slinging around her heavy keyboard.

"Mugi-chan, thank you for everything!" Ui said.

"Ui-chan," Sawako asked.

"Yes?"

She held Ui's hands tight. "Make your new university proud. I will be watching you."

"Th...thanks."

Sawako embraced her. "If I had a daughter, I want her to be just like you."

Ui blushed. She hoped that Miss Sawako would finally have a family. She deserved to have one. It was the right time.

"I'll be on my way, then. Good luck!" She walked over to her magenta minivan on the curb, waving goodbye.

"There she goes," Jun said. "Well, looks like it's going to be just the three of us now."

Ui turned to her partner. "Azusa."

"Yes?"

"Do you want to come over for dinner? I want to introduce you to my parents."

"I don't want to look like this, though."

"You can get changed and come on back. We'll be eating and drinking and playing video games all night! You can even sleep over with us, if you want!"

Azusa beamed. "Yeah!"

"Okay. We'll see you later!" And Azusa went back home to change into some comfortable, casual clothes.

* * *

"So," Jun said to Ui as she walked home, "what are you going to do?"

"Well, aside from the party we're gonna be having, I'm also gonna be blogging."

"You said a party? I want to go!"

"Didn't I say that earlier?"

"No, I thought I wasn't gonna be invited."

"No, you can come with us if you want. My father used to work as a member of the band P-MODEL before he changed jobs and moved to Germany."

"Wow. What's his first name?"

"Susumu."

"Hey, my father knows him. He's a fan of his music."

"I see. Well, here's what you should do. Get changed, and we'll see you at my house. There will be plenty to eat. You will be stuffed."

"Heheh, I can't wait. I'll bring some of my donuts, too."

"You do that. See you later."

"Bye!" And Jun took the bus home to get changed.

"So that's two guests that will be coming in," Ui said to herself. "All right, when I get home, I'm gonna do some blogging. Goodbye Sakuragaoka, hello JWU!"

Ui raised her fists in the air in triumph as she continued on her walk home. There was going to be a lot to do for the dinner, and the impending sleepover that was coming.

She was no longer a high school student. She was a graduate, and a college freshman. A new journey awaited her. And she was set to walk on all over again.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 24**

**A/N:**

Translations by Honya: Fuwa Fuwa Time, My Love Is A Stapler, Fude Pen Ballpoint Pen, Listen!, Go! Go! Maniac, Utauyo! MIRACLE, Rice Is A Side Dish, U&I, I Touched An Angel!

Translations by CoolShades: Genius, Our Magic, Girls In Wonderland

Translations by Deciphered Melody: Cagayake! GIRLS, Don't Say Lazy

Translations by XZX: The Strawberry Parfaits Don't Stop, Fuyu No Hi, Samidare 20 Love

Translations by atashi: Honey Sweet Tea Time, NO Thank You!

Translations by AzureDark: Happy! Sorry!, Sweet Bitter Beauty Song

Translations by Midori Sakura: Tokimeki Sugar

Translations by xRiikox: Kira Kira Days

The last song was a loose transliteration of the alma mater, designed to fit with the music. See the first chapter.


	25. That's The Way I Wanna Rock And Roll

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 25:**

**That's The Way I Wanna Rock And Roll

* * *

**

The twilight of the evening gave way to crickets chirping and birds singing in the distance. In the distance, a young woman with brown hair flowing to her shoulders with bangs parted down the middle was smiling as she carried her guitar home en route to a feast carried out in her name.

She had done it.

Ui Hirasawa had finally done it.

She was officially a graduate of Sakuragaoka High School. Ui pinched herself once, twice, three times. She was not dreaming. The dream was real. Her next goal: to obtain a college degree. But there would be time for her to prepare for life as a college freshman later. Tonight was a night to look back at what was a successful three years at Sakuragaoka.

Passing by the Shinto temple, she made her way home. Her father, Susumu, waited at the door. "There's my wonder eldest daughter! Come over here, you rascal!"

"Dad!" Ui ran to Susumu, who gave her a hug, lifting her a few centimeters before placing her back on her feet.

"It's not very often I get to hug you, especially when I'm doing business outside the country. How are you?"

Ui was in tears, seeing her father for the first time. "I'm so relieved that I got to graduate! I'm so happy!"

"I'm happy for you too. Let's go inside. And don't forget to change into your slippers."

"I know, Dad. I know." Ui giggled. She was like a little girl all over again as she blushed.

Ui's mother, Aki, was still finishing cooking. Yui decided to help her out by folding some clothes and setting the table. "Hey Mom," Ui said to Aki.

"Ui-chan! There you are!" She gave Ui a kiss on the cheek. "Dad and I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"How have you been?"

"Well, I've had a lot of fun doing things by myself without you two around. How's Germany?"

"We're doing very well at our jobs in Berlin. Your Dad loves the beer served there."

"Das Bier in Deutschland ist sehr gut!" Susumu said, the others laughing.

Aki went on. "It's very high-paying, so we are able to send money to your grandmother, who gives it to you."

"Wow. Now I know why I am able to buy all this food."

"We're not gonna let our two wonderful daughters starve like this, right?" Susumu asked Aki.

"No, we won't." They both kissed. "Dinner will be ready in about 30 minutes, so go ahead and get changed. You're sweating a bit, Ui. Did you run all the way over here? And you're not wearing your ribbon or clips anymore."

"No, we were playing at a concert on campus to close out graduation," she said. "And since I'm not a graduate, I don't need those things anymore."

"Come to think of it, Yui was tuning in to NHK, and she was hearing somebody that sounded like you and your friends. I wasn't so sure if that was indeed you or it that was somebody else, but you guys are fantastic. Ui, you know how to play and sing. Good job."

"Eheheheh..."

"Aki, my dear, our daughter knows how to rock and roll, just like her old dad!"

"Woo-hoo!" she replied, pumping her fist before continuing to fry some chicken. "Congratulations on graduating, Ui-chan!"

"Thanks, Mom." And she went up the stairs to get changed, taking a bath along the way before donning her yellow sweater and orange pajamas. Returning to her bedroom, she flipped her laptop on and worked on her blog.

"Wow, what a day," she read. "I am no longer a high school student. I am officially a Sakuragaoka High School alumnus. I still can't believe that I finally made it to this day. But I did, and now it's over. I am writing this blog from my own bedroom, pondering the future laid before me. Dinner is being cooked downstairs, and a couple of my friends will be stopping by to eat. Yui, for the first time in a while, is bothering to help out Mom and Dad with some work. And the parents are here for the first time in a while, since they are back from spending time in Germany. They will need to head on a flight back early in the morning.

"I've made it a priority to take my work at Japan Women's University very seriously. I plan to major in Child Studies as well as Household Economics because I like cooking and I like working with kids. It's always fun to determine what you want to major in. Then the real work begins towards building your degree. I think I have to start with the general education portion, and then I go to the courses relevant to my degree. That's how it works.

"Anyway, I wanted to go ahead and take this time to write in my blog some anecdotes about some stuff that happened when I was still a senior at Sakuragaoka, I remember when..."

* * *

Rewind to late November. Ui still had her trimmed bangs. And Azusa Nakano was watching a video near the music room promoting the club. The scene: trees were blooming at Sakuragaoka High School Girls' Campus, the petals floating down. The stage was set for a freshman concert that took place. Ui addressed the crowd as Mio Akiyama, Ritsu Tainaka and Tsumugi Kotobuki got their instruments set. A trail of petals could be seen from the auditorium, and it led all the way to the music room.

"Well, freshmen," Ui said to the crowd in their red ties, "congratulations on your new life at your new school, Sakuragaoka. Our club currently has four members and faces the terrible threat of disbandment. Those of you who are interested, please head upstairs to the music room, where there will be cake and tea served."

After the concert, the four of them moved their instruments to the music room and opened the doors.

Ui dressed her guitar, Gitah, with her blazer and blue tie. Same with Mio's bass, Elizabeth and Tsumugi's keyboard, which she placed a cup of tea on, and Ritsu's snare, which she took from her set.

The premise that dressing their instruments with their blazers and ties was going to work seemed dubious at best.

They raised their dressed instruments at the entrance as a form of advertisement as Mio in her nurse's garb hid in the background. "Would you like to create groovy days and funky memories with us in our Light Music Club?" Ui, Tsumugi and Ritsu asked. The instruments parted, revealing Mio. "W...Welcome...to our light music club!" she said with a wink, flustered, trembling, sweating.

If this was an advertisement, it was going to backfire. Big time.

Azusa looked at the video on horror. "Wh...What the fuck is this?"

"A promotional video of the club done two Aprils ago," Miss Sawako Yamanaka said to her with pride.

"This...This is garbage." Well, they had to get members, one way or another.

* * *

Back at the music room, Mio looked in horror over an empty tin of cookies. Her screams upset Ritsu's cymbals, causing them to resonate. "Oh my fucking God!"

"What's wrong, Mio?" Ritsu asked.

"Look at this..."

"A cookie tin?" Ui said.

Tsumugi looked inside. "It's empty."

"Hey Ui, did you hog them all?" Ritsu said in her conviction.

"I didn't eat any; I just got back from class."

"It's not that," Mio said to them. "We kept something in here..."

"Whatever do you mean?" Ritsu wondered.

The door opened. It was Azusa. "Is there something wrong?"

Mio gasped. "A-Azusa, that's..."

"Eh?" She was holding a white disc in its case containing the promotional video.

"Oh my God, you did not...!"

"This? It was in a cookie tin at the back of the top shelf."

She slumped over on the table. "You bastard, I sealed that thing away. Why did you open it?"

It all clicked for Mugi. "That has to be..."

"That is the legendary freshman recruit video we made before Azunyan joined us," Ui said.

"What's so legendary about it?" Ritsu deadpanned.

"So, Azusa, did you watch it?" Mio asked in fear.

"Yes, I did. I found it while I was cleaning the room, and I watched it using Miss Sawako's laptop. You call this a recruitment video? It's poorly directed, not well-thought...and is just plain garbage."

Mio cowered to the back of the room, where Mugi was there to comfort her. "It was supposed to be sealed away!"

"Are you all right, Mio-chan?" Mugi asked her.

"I feel as embarrassed as I was in that video," she said. "This sucks."

Ritsu crossed her arms. "Oh man...that brings back memories. We put a lite of time and effort into making that one."

"In a world where there is nothing but never-ending girls love, therein lies a story of blood, sweat, tears, and moe," Ui said, crossing her arms while doing her best Don LaFontaine impersonation. "The Keion-bu. Coming Soon."

"Mmm-hmmm." A couple of nods.

Ritsu looked on, lost in her own reflective state. "This was before Azusa joined us...Miss Sawako was checking to see that it was recording, and Mugi said, 'Yes, it is, it's working all right.' And then as Mugi was panning out, Miss Sawako, who had Mio wear the nurse's garb, said to her, 'Stop being embarrassed.' And Mio said, 'I...I don't want to appear like this!' She reassured her, saying 'Quit complaining.' Mio was fidgeting around, going, 'But...Oh Lord, please kill me now!' I went over, and said, 'Cut! Cut! Cut! Cut! Mio, you can't say that in our video.' Tsumugi apologized, and I went bananas on her. 'What club is this supposed to portray?' I asked her. 'It does even resemble Light Music as it's supposed to be portrayed!' Sawako agreed, saying 'That's right, we need to show some more skin.' I whacked Sawa-chan, saying, 'Quit being the sick perv that you are!' Tsumugi was still filming that. Mugi moaned, going 'Ritsu...Ritsu...' I was still mad at Mugi as Sawako was pouting. 'Mugi! Stop filming all la-di-fucking-da!' I said. 'Sorry,' she replied. 'God damn both of you,' I groaned as Mio hugged me like I was her dakimakura. 'I thought making a freshman recruitment video would be a good idea since Sawa-chan suggested it...but this is starting to become a pain.' 'Well, excuse me for trying to help you, Ricchan!' she shot back. 'You're not even helping; this is uncomfortable for us!' 'But I'm always very serious about my work!' she said. 'I was only trying to help.' 'You aren't! And Mio, quit clinging to me, baby! You can do it when we get home!' 'No, I will never let you go!' 'Ohhh boy.' And Tsumugi captured it all on tape. What a shyster. So I turned to Ui, who was still working on her cake. 'Hey Ui.' She was like, 'Yeah?' I asked her, 'What do you think?' She was like, 'Approved!'"

"I see," Azusa said.

* * *

Ritsu continued on, "So, Ui was primping herself in the mirror, placing her lip gloss on while Mugi was wearing Mio's nurse cap and looking at herself a little bit more as Mio changed back into her regular uniform. Finally, I was fed up. 'Fucking hell! Get with the program and start playing already you son-of-a-bitch!' I said to her."

"Man, that was harsh," Ui snickered.

"So Ui donned Gitah, tousled her locks, and tuned her strings. A strum, and the place shook. Everyone had to cover their ears. It was loud as heck. Perhaps the birds could hear the noise from beyond the window. 'Is that a C chord?' she asked me. And that, essentially, was how this video was made."

"Memories, memories." Ui took the CD, place it in the cookie tin and sealed it with duct tape. Biscotti and chamomile were on the house again.

"So why the heck did you seal it away?" Azusa asked them.

Ritsu was bored as she rested her head on her left hand like a lazy Leo. "Because Mio told me, 'Never, ever!' And so we sealed it away in the cookie tin you see before you before we ever showed it to anyone on campus."

"Is that so? Little Miss Mioblob indeed."

Similarly bored, Ui plugged her iPod on to the dock and played David Guetta's "Gettin' Over You."

Flip that lightbulb switch on, Tsumugi Kotobuki. The switch was flipped on. "I got an idea."

"What is it?" Ui wanted to know.

"We should made a new freshman recruitment video."

"Another one?" Mio was fearful.

"But this time, we'll make it one that people can watch."

"Hmmm." Ui stroked her chin. "I like where this is going."

Ritsu agreed. "Yeah, we need to make a new one."

"I'm so in on this. Next Spring will be totally awesome for the incoming freshmen."

"I don't mind," said Mio, "but guys, we can't be half-assing these types of things, you know. We must mean BUSINESS when it comes to this."

Azusa wanted to weigh in on the decision. "You guys..."

Enter Miss Sawako. "That is a great idea."

Ritsu was surprised. "Sawa-chan!"

"Hell, Miss Sawako," Ui said. "Have some tea and cookies."

"Sure thing." She took a seat.

"So, what we're going to do is create a new, updated video for the club, and it will be in the hands of the ones to come after us."

"Hmmm." A crunch, and a sip. "I'm gonna let you guys borrow this." She produced her video camera, newly-bought from Akihabara.

"Your camcorder?" Ritsu asked. "Are you sure?"

Mio was equally stunned. "Since when were you...?"

"Just leave everything to me," Sawako said, snacking a bit more, flashing a thumbs up for good measure. She went over to Azusa and placed her cat ears on. "Accessory...ready!"

"Nyan!" Azusa was startled.

Sawako then adjusted Azusa's fists to form that of a cat after she gave the camera to Tsumugi. "Pose...ready! Camera?"

"Ready!"

"All right. Your line and...action!"

Azusa was stunned...but she had to say it while tilting her head to her left. "W...Welcome to the Light Music Club-nyan."

Sawako studied the mechanics. Mio and Ritsu were similarly displeased, but Ui and Mugi were loving it. The teacher pumped her fists. It was a good fit. In the background, David Guetta was on the iPod. "Memories."

"What the hell are you trying to make me do?" Azusa cried, embarrassed beyond consolation. "It can't be like this! Let's make something more serious than this!"

* * *

And so a series of meetings for the ad-hoc Planning Committee were set up. Ui hung a sign on the frog at the entrance. Session 1 commenced.

"And thus the question is brought up," Ritsu said, presiding over the Planning Committee. "as we begin the first session of the Planning Committee for the Light Music Club Freshmen Recruitment Video."

Applause. "Here we go, everyone," Ui said to the others.

Her authority never shined any more, as club president. "I'd like to discuss this matter in its entirety so that we do not repeat the same mistakes as last time. Does anyone have any good ideas?"

Sawako raised her hand. "Yes, I do."

"Miss Yamanaka, you have the floor."

"I demand more revealing clothing."

"We are not making anything like that!" Mio rebuked.

Azusa weighed in. "I prefer something that has a bit more impact than that."

"Azunyan has a point," Ui said. "We need something that will make everyone want to join after watching it!"

Cue Miss Sawako with a suggestion. "Okay, what about this? Let's make it like a Hollywood film trailer." Here she goes with her Don LaFontaine impersonation. "Ahem. 'In a world lacking in blissful happiness, and a country drenched in boredom, a shockwave was sent throughout America!' And then Mio's calling Ritsu for where she is. She couldn't hear her, but she could hear an explosion just up the street. Let me go on, ahem." Here she goes again. "'They're back!' And there's Ui doing some martial arts moves in front of some interested fans. 'This spring, they are finally coming to Japan!' Cue the scene of me in Las Vegas dealing cards to people at the World Series of Poker, Ritsu posing with her sticks at somebody as if to challenge them to a drum-off, Azusa feeling safe at home in New York City with Muttan and her pig costume and Tsumugi donning her shades somewhere in Finland, puffing a cigarette by the redwoods."

"I don't smoke, by the way," Mugi said.

More of the impersonation. "Ahem. 'The Light Music Club. Are you ready? Coming soon!' How about that?"

"We resonate, but not to that degree," Ritsu deadpanned. "I wish we did, though."

"And what is with the 'Coming to Japan' part?" Azusa asked. "We've already arrived. We were founded here, you know."

Sawako slumped over. "Crap, I forgot. It should have been something along the lines of 'Coming to America,'" right?

"News flash, Miss Yamanaka," Ritsu said, "we do not have enough money to finance a trip to the States."

"That, too..." She got up. "Fine, then! Then do you want me to make a costume nobody has ever seen? Something that will create shockwaves? I will head to the sewing room to lock myself up!" She ran downstairs.

Mio tried to call her back. "Hey, wait!" Too late now. Her faced turned blue. "God fucking dammit!"

* * *

After a brief intermission, Session 2 of the Planning Committee began.

"All right then," Ritsu said to the others, "with that out of the way, does anyone have other, more sensible ideas?"

"We need to think of something," said Tsumugi. "Otherwise, Mio-chan will have to wear a costume that will send a shockwave throughout the U.S. of A." Hokago Tea Time had thousands of supporters stateside, perhaps because of the concerts and music distributed illegally and legally online.

Mio was defiant as ever. "Hell no, I am never going to wear it! Never, never, never!"

"We get the point," Ritsu said to her as Ui popped another cookie in her mouth. "Anyway, ladies, we need to come up with a good idea to replace that."

She needed to think of something. Otherwise, Sawako would disgrace her purity even further. Azusa was also deep in thought, as was Ui while Ton-chan swam in his tank once again. "I got an idea," Mio said.

"Let's hear it."

"How about we narrate it from Ton-chan's perspective, like 'I Am a Cat'?"

"Oh?"

"Start the narration with, 'My name is Ton-chan. I am a pig-nosed turtle swimming in a tank in the music room.'"

"Sounds very sophisticated," Mugi replied. "And unique. I like it."

"I have a question!" Ui asked.

"Miss Hirasawa, go right ahead," Ritsu said, moderating the discussion.

"Do you think Ton-chan talks like he's living in the past? I would think he would talk more like a mischievous little boy."

"I thought Ton-chan was a girl," Azusa replied to her.

"No, I checked the gender before we bought him. He's a guy. But if you want him to change genders, that would be fine by me. Thus, we should make Ton-chan sound like one of the girls here. Wonder who should do the voice-over...Ricchan?

The turtle clawed at the glass. "'Hi! I'm Ton-chan! xoxoxo' Something like that?" She asked her.

"You got it!"

"But who is going to play Ton-chan?" Tsumugi asked. "Anybody got ideas?"

They were too busy paying attention to Ton-chan swaying. Azusa happened to be the most mesmerized by Ton-chan's lazy, fluid motions.

Ritsu stroked her chin. "Since we need to pick someone outside of the club, let's try Jun. Ui, can you go get her?"

"Be right back!" And she was off.

"What did you want me to do?" Jun asked Ui as she was being dragged from the student council room. "I was evaluating the budget for next year when you barged in."

"We're filming a freshmen recruitment video for next year, and we need your help."

"So," Jun asked as she entered the music room, "what do you want me to do?"

"I need you to do the voice-over for Ton-chan, our turtle. He will be our focal point for the video. Can you read these lines?"

Jun looked them over. "Let me try this. Ahem. 'Hi, I'm Ton-chan, a pig-nosed turtle! xoxoxo' How's that?"

Good pitch, good emotion, good character. "Jun-chan is talking like a little girl," Ui said, moved by it all.

Azusa turned to the others as Jun helped herself to some cookies and tea. "But isn't this hard to tell that this video is about the Light Music Club?" she asked the others.

"You've got a point," Ritsu said to her.

* * *

Some time off for tea and cookies before Session 3 of the Planning Committee began.

"Time to face the facts," Ritsu said to the members. "We are still looking for an idea for our Light Music Club freshman recruiting video. You know something? I believe it is our duty to show what's good about being in the Light Music Club."

They all nodded.

Ritsu went on. "So, how about something like this? A faculty member interviewing us, but we prefer to have our faces blurred as to avoid having out identities found out. I could go out and say something like 'Right, the benefits were immense. As soon as I joined the Light Music Club, I was accepted to the college of my choice, won the lottery, grew taller, and even my skin looks better now! I've had nothing but good luck. I can't believe how troubled I was before!' And the results would show before and after training. Something like that."

"No way," Azusa deadpanned. "That sounds like a shady infomercial."

"You don't like it?"

"No way!"

Ui offered a suggestion. "How about we do the Electric Slide or the Hustle in our animal costumes, then? Tsumugi can play her maracas while she's at it. And I can do some slam dancing as in my chicken outfit."

"Like Sesame Street?" Ritsu said, cross and disappointed with the idea.

"Not good?"

"Nope."

"Besides," Azusa added, "those costumes will scare people off."

Another suggestion from Ui. "Okay, let's ditch the costumes. Let's do a comedy skit. For example, we can drop a bucket on somebody. Eh? Uh-huh, that looks like a winner, right?"

The others looked at Ui with looks of bewilderment, as if she had lost her mind yet again. "Why the hell do we need to make this a fucking comedy?" Azusa groaned.

* * *

More tea, and desserts from Paradiso were shared around as Ui drew some random animals, flowers, smilies and hearts on a sign that indicated that the club was in Session 4 of the Planning Committee. They had been unable to reach an agreement on what to publish, and time was of the essence as the frog watched, guarding the doors outside.

"With those ideas consigned to the shredder," said Ritsu, sipping, "we are starting to run out of alternatives, and this, ladies and gentleturtle, isn't good."

The others were still in deep thought over what to choose as the mental debate went on.

"I'll have some strawberry cake!" Ui said, helping herself to a slice. Dibs.

"You were thinking about that?" Azusa exclaimed, shocked at her ladyfriend's direction of thought. Again, dibs.

"I'll take the Mont Blanc!" Ritsu said, grabbing it.

"That's not fair, Ritsu!" Mio said, furious that she got dibs on the chestnut-laced wonder. "That was going to be mine."

"Correction: WAS going to be yours, Mio. Tee hee."

Now Azusa was setting order in the club. "Guys, guys, we need to quit arguing about desserts and focus on what to present for the video!"

"Do you want one that's on the plate?" Ritsu asked her.

"Fine, I'll have the banana cream tart." She took her plate. Mugi took the custard pie, while it was the chocolate cake for Mio.

But after eating dessert, they still were mentally debating over what to publish. And the afternoon sun never shown any brighter.

it was Mugi's turn to take the floor. "How about we do this?"

"Speak up, Mugi-chan," Ui said to her.

"Let's make it a murder thriller TV drama, like Law & Order, House, CSI and all those shows on TV. The Light Music Club is solving the case. But the murderer actually..."

A bored Ritsu shot it down easily. Bang. "We can't have the culprit standing on a cliff facing the Sea of Japan."

"I see. How about this: it's a dark and stormy night. The Light Music Club is locked in the school gym. They disappear one by one, just like the lyrics for 'Gohan wa Okazu.' How's that?"

The four of them looked at Mugi with the same bemused faces they had been wearing for the past hour or so. "There is now way we can be allowed to re-enact that," Ritsu said. Back to the drawing board, then.

Mugi agreed. "I guess the lyrics weren't like that at all...How about we simplify things?"

"What do you mean?"

"As she meets her maker, Azusa is screaming bloody murder in the music room as a bust of a Roman god falls on the floor. Ricchan hears the message while washing her sweating face outside. Mio was listening to some iPods but could hear the scream from under the trees. I'm in the shoe changing room but I hear the cry for help. Ui is already on her way. We all arrive by the entrance, ready to save this person. With a nod, I open the door. and we all see Azusa lying there in the middle of the room. 'Azusa! Azunyan!' we all shout, in horror. Next to her is a message that says, 'Keion-bu,' written in her own blood. 'What the hell is this?' Ricchan shouts, horrified at the sight. Mio cowers in a corner, while we all look on at the note, taking a closer look. 'The culprit wants us to see the Light Music Club?' Ricchan asks me, Ui and Mio. 'Let's go see the Light Music Club,' I say to the others as we all stand. 'All our questions will be answered there.' How's that?"

"But doesn't that make the Light Music Club the culprit?" Ritsu said sheepishly. Bang! There goes another idea shot down against the afternoon sun.

"And I am the corpse?" Azusa deadpanned, not amused by her becoming a liability with the club.

"You guys don't like it?" Tsumugi asked them.

Ritsu spelled it out for her. "No. We. DON'T." She had another idea. "Let's do a cursed video!" Azusa was not buying into the idea one iota of a bit. "Whoever watches this video will be..."

"That's reserved for our friends from the Occult Club," Azusa said to her.

"But the Occult Club isn't like that at all," Ui countered.

"Huh?" Azusa didn't get it.

"Azusa, listen," Ritsu said, "all you've been saying is 'no' this entire time. Basically, you are the one that has been holding us up from creating any progress here. What exactly do you want from this video?"

She gave it some thought, before coming up with a solution. "All right guys, I will type up a script for you guys and make copies of it for you next week."

They applauded her move with a flourish.

* * *

Ui continued on her blog entry, drinking a bottle of water. "Now," she said while typing, "we didn't have a clue as to what Azusa was going to write. But she apparently had something in mind during Session 4. Azusa was going to succeed Ricchan as our president, so we figured it had to be something good for us; Otherwise, our video would end up no better than the previous one. We were on pins and needles, crossing our fingers. Something needed to be done. Thank God the love of my life saved our lives that afternoon over tea, cookies and cake."

"Ui-chan!" Aki called out from downstairs, "Dinner's ready!"

"I'll blog some more later," Ui said while typing. "Dinner is being served." She titled the entry as "Graduation Day Anecdotes Part 1," hit the Submit button, closed her laptop and went downstairs.

"Wow," Ui said, seeing a table full of delights. There was sushi, sashimi, katsu, tempura, miso soup, salad, and some KFC: the most expensive item on the menu.

"You like that layout?" Susumu asked her.

"Dad, you are awesome," Ui said, giving him a hug.

Susumu scruffed her hair a little. "Anything for my already-graduated daughter. Help yourself. There's plenty to eat. Oh, and look who's here."

He was pointing to Grandma Tomi Ichimonji, watching some college basketball. "Hello," she said in her gentle, craggy voice.

"Granny, hi," Ui said, giving her a hug and a peck on the cheek. "So glad you could be here."

"Congratulations on graduating, Ui-chan. Are you ready for college?"

"Mmm-hmmm!"

"Good, good. By the way, I had the KFC up the street hand-deliver the sides and the two buckets of fried chicken. I know that a couple others are coming too, so I prepared accordingly."

"Thanks, Granny."

"All right. Ah, this is such a wonderful moment. Ooh, that was a good three-pointer! Defense, Duke, defense!" She turned to the television, watching the NCAA Tournament while eating on some tempura.

"This food is so delicious!" Yui said, munching blissfully on a drumstick. "I could eat the whole bucket!"

"Yui-chan, that's not all for you," Aki reminded her youngest daughter, who pouted.

Before Ui could have a seat, the doorbell rang. "Do you want to go get that?" Susumu asked Ui.

"Yes, Dad." Ui walked over to the door and opened it.

"Excuse our intrusion!" It was Jun and Azusa. Azusa made some more of the chocolate cake that she baked for the club, while Jun had another of those All-Star Packs.

"Hello, hello, hello!" Ui said. Azusa gave her a hug. She was still tearing up a little.

"And who might these two be?" Susumu asked Ui.

"These are my friends, Jun-chan and Azusa."

"Hello, Mr. Hirasawa." Jun was still trembling. She couldn't believe this was HIM. She bowed. "I am...Jun Suzuki. A pleasure to meet you."

"The daughter of a good friend of mine by the same name, huh?"

"H...how did you know?"

"I got connections. I'm Susumu Hirasawa, Yui's and Ui's father, and this is my wife Aki."

"Hello," she said.

"I'm Azusa Nakano," she said, introducing herself with a bow. "I'm Ui's fiancée and a classmate of Jun. A pleasure to meet you."

"The daughter of Teruo-san, huh?" Susumu asked her.

"You know my father?"

"He was with me during my P-Model days before he did his work with the Puppet Master Quartet. I know him very well."

"Susumu-kun knows everybody," Aki said. "When he met with Ricchan's, Mio-chan's, and Mugi-chan's parents, it was as if he was meeting with old friends. Mugi-chan's uncle Hikaru worked with Susumu-kun as a member of P-Model, and so did Mio's father Tatsuhiko. Yasumi, Ricchan's mother, and her father Sadatoshi also worked with Susumu-kun. It was like a P-Model reunion, in a way, down at the graduation."

"As you can see, we're all connected, in one way or another," Ui said to Azusa. "Let's eat."

They all sat down at the table to eat dinner. "So let me also ask you this," Susumu asked Ui, "are you and Azusa lesbians?"

"We are," they both said.

"Hmmm." he gave this thought. "This is the first time I've ever had my two wonderful daughters come out in the open like this. In recent years, I have realized that I have to respect the wishes of people who choose to be gay or lesbian. I have many friends and acquaintances who are LGBT, and I believe that the current law in this country should allow for increased gay rights."

"Is Dad becoming a lawyer all of a sudden?" asked Ui, to which everyone laughed.

"I'm just throwing my philosophy out for you guys to enjoy." He turned to Azusa. "Anyway, the point I am making is this. I believe that as long as Teruo, your father, is fine with you marrying Ui, I will also give my consent. I will also allow you to live here, as a reward for you helping my two daughters out so many times. Congratulations."

Azusa blushed. "Th...Thank you, Mr. Hirasawa."

Susumu smiled and turned away. "Hee hee, and then I can take photos of my daughters fornicating with Azusa-chan in Ui-chan's bedroom and...!"

Aki smacked him with a paper fan, triggering a headbump. "Quit being a perv!" she and the others exclaimed.

"Oh, the woes of being the only man in the house..." And they all laughed.

"Congratulations on getting consent from the 'rents, Azusa, Ui-sempai," Jun said to them, eating a donut.

"Thank you," they both replied.

"Ui, we're gonna be living our lives together when I graduate," Azusa said, leaning closer to Ui, feeling her heartbeat. "I feel so happy!"

"I know."

"Don't forget that you have me to keep you company!" Yui added, pouting in her complaint.

"We won't forget about you either, Yui."

"Oh, and Azunyan will need to buy me ice cream!"

"You go buy your own!" Azusa shot back.

Yui cowered in fear. "Onee-chan, your fiancée is being mean to me!" The others laughed.

"Azunyan, is it?" Susumu said, stroking his chin with a smile.

"We like to call her Azunyan because she looks good in cat ears!"

Azusa blushed madly. "That's true..."

"Do your cat pose, Azunyan! Do it! Do it!"

Reluctantly, she did. "N...Nyan..."

Susumu was mesmerized, and so was Aki. "So cute..." they both said.

After they both cleared the table, Grandma Tomi said goodbye to the others and left for her house. "Tomorrow morning, we'll be leaving for Germany," Susumu said to Ui, Yui, Jun and Azusa. "We'll be spending the night here. Jun, Azusa, are you two also gonna spend the night here?"

"We're sleeping over, yes," Azusa said.

Jun agreed. "Yep."

"Jun-chan, Azunyan, do you want to play some video games in my room?" Yui asked.

"What games do you got?" Jun asked her.

"Some sports and action games. And I got the DDR machine, too!"

"Awesome, let's go! Azusa, do you want to join us?"

"I'll be...with Ui," she replied, embracing her.

"Lovers," she scoffed. "Yui, I challenge you!"

"Okay, you're on!" And off they went to Yui's room to play some video games on the PlayStation3, Wii and Xbox360.

"We'll talk amongst ourselves in the living room," Aki said to Ui and Azusa.

"Okay, Mom," Ui said. "Thanks for the food! Come on Azusa, let's go to my room."

"Yeah!" She brought her pink polka-dotted pillow and other toiletries and followed Ui upstairs.

After she took a bath, Azusa undid her twintails, dressed in nothing but a long white nightshirt with purple cuffs and collar over her white panties.. The pajamas covered all the way down to the middle of her thighs.

"Ui?" she asked, still clutching her pillow.

"There you are," she replied, downing the rest of her water, cracking her knuckles a bit. She was wearing nothing but a buttoned nightshirt over her bra and panties "Knock yourself out."

Azusa smiled as she placed her pillow nest to Ui's, and stared at the ceiling as she lay there, relaxing, her face still blushing. "So what are you doing?"

"I'm recalling some stuff that happened when I was still a student. I remember one time in November where we were producing that freshmen recruitment video that we already did. I'm blogging about it."

"Oh yeah, I remember that stuff from a while back, about how I made up the script for that and all that stuff." She closed her eyes. "Hey, Ui, when you're done, I want you to make love to me some more."

"What we did by the tree was just a taste of what's to come. Just let me finish this."

"Okay, love." Her smile never going away for a bit, Azusa laid on her side and watched Ui continue to blog about the video the club made.

* * *

After Azusa returned home, she wasted no time in concocting the script for the video. Clad in a green and light green shirt over an olive sweater with pink cuffs, she needed some form of inspiration to make this script simple, easy to understand, but most importantly...effective. Azusa was in a state of thought, experimenting with numerous scenarios, mixing and matching with the seconds ticking away into evening.

Suddenly, she slumped on her side, a prisoner of too much thought and nothing to account for. "Dammit, this isn't working," she said to herself. "I can't come up with anything when I try to do it myself." While Azusa wasn't one to lose a battle so easily, something needed to be created.

The next day was Sunday, and Azusa was still working on her script over at the Max Burger, where she was joined by Yui and Nodoka Manabe, the other two succeeding members of the club. Yui worked on her second refill of Coke, while Nodoka worked on her first.

"Thanks for treating us again, Azunyan," Yui said.

"Will you two quit drinking; I'm trying to think here!" Azusa exclaimed.

"Uh oh; she's gone tsundere again."

"You know those types of traits, Yui?" Nodoka asked her.

"Yep! I read about it all the time." She took a fry and treated it as it was a cigarette before eating it.

"Anyway, Azusa, I don't believe it's of your interests to think too much into it."

"Nodoka-chan's got a point. I see onee-chan blogging, and what she does is this: she writes down whatever may come to mind."

"For someone that doesn't blog too much, if ever," Nodoka said to her, "you know quite a lot."

"That's cause onee-chan told me about it a while back."

Azusa was also working on her Max Burger. "Whatever comes to mind, huh?"

Nodoka weighed in. "Here's another tip that I got from a member of the Council who has connections to the Drama Club: use a cool pitch."

"Whoa, that's a good idea, Nodoka-chan!" Yui said, sparks in her eyes.

"You're already buying into her idea that quickly?" Azusa deadpanned, a suspicious young woman.

Now it was Nodoka's turn to be Don LaFontaine. "In a country where rock and roll fuels its commitment to be its best, their concert send a shockwave throughout Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus, moving more than a thousand strong to tears! Do you want to add your page to the history of a tradition since 1967? Join the Light Music Club and become...a legend!"

"Miss Sawako tried that with us yesterday," Azusa said to her, "and that's not going to work."

Nodoka went on. "And the video should be like those music promo videos. You can play in one of the local hot spots in Shinjuku, Ginza or Shibuya, while filming from above for a dynamic effect. You can even include scenes from past concerts, outtakes, practices, etc."

"Whoa! That sounds like a plan, Nodoka-chan," Yui replied.

"Hmmm..." Azusa pondered the thought. "The dramatic stuff is fine, but I don't think we can afford to go over the top with this one. Besides, I want to have a homemade quality to this film and show the normal-but-good side of the Light Music Club."

"I think going homemade is fine because it fits the club well, but I don't think it should be unpolished and too homemade. I would think that the finished product would at least be professionally done."

"The good side of the Light music Club, huh?" Nodoka wondered, stroking her chin. "Okay, you can talk about how you get to stay overnight at school during the school festival."

Yui was all in. "Oooh, that's a good idea, Nodoka-chan!"

Azusa laughed in embarrassment. "You're always buying into every idea Nodoka gives you, Yui. Anyway, I don't think that should be considered the good side of the club."

"I would think that staying overnight on campus is a fun thing if you're a member," Nodoka said to Yui, "right?"

"True, true."

Nodoka worked on her Coke. "Last week, Jun-sempai told me that the Jazz Club only had a short rehearsal the day before their concert."

"Those guys practice every day, unlike us," Azusa replied. "So while they don't get a lot of breaks, they have the luxury of not panicking at the last minute because they know what to do."

"However—and Jun-sempai is notorious for pointing this out every time she gets the chance—you guys get to have tea, sweets and sweet talk every day after class, unlike the Jazz Club. And you get to go to a vacation home by a beach for summer training camp, unlike the Jazz Club."

"Ehhh, that's mean. Nodoka-chan, you're making them sound lazy," Yui said.

"Don't say lazy!" Azusa shot back.

Nodoka maintained her innocence. "I didn't say this; Jun did."

In the back of her mind, she did admit that they were lazy most of the time, in spite of getting things right when necessary.

But for the first time, Azusa had something to work with. She had a lead. She remembered the concert at the last school festival, when everyone was working so hard to make it the most successful ever. She remembered the sweat that was dripping from the hair, the emotions running through their blood, the crowd cheering, immortalizing their place among the school's finest.

This meant so much to her. This club, and everything it stood for, meant so much to her because this was the club she would take command of in April.

"Yesterday, a few freshmen in the Jazz Club were talking with me in the Student Council Room about you guys," Nodoka said as Yui worked on her fries. "They were telling me that it doesn't look like you guys practice that much, but your performance was still fantastic."

"You know what?" Yui said to her. "Grandma Tomi next door was watching the broadcast and said that they kicked ass that afternoon. It was unbelievable. She said that when onee-chan plays, the whole world stops to listen and enjoy. It was broadcast online, too."

"Ooooh. I thought the fact that this was broadcast all over was via the Web just a rumor. Now I know that it's true."

"You didn't hear, Nodoka-chan? I'm so disappointed in you. You thought it was just broadcast on local TV, huh? This was a global event. The world knows about Azunyan, onee-chan and the others."

The lead got bigger. "I got it."

"What?" The two of them wanted to know. It was big enough for Azusa to write down the lines for what would eventually be the script. Nodoka and Yui took a sneak peek.

"I think we inspired her," Yui said. "High-five, Nodoka-chan?"

"Sure thing." An exchange, and a job well done.

* * *

Monday morning came. Clear skies with a few clouds and a cool, blustery wind welcomed the students that day. Azusa went over to the office to make copies of the script, which she reproduced using Microsoft Word. Afterwards, she made the trip up the stairs, where the others awaited her. Outside, the cross-country team was going through their conditioning run across campus and all over the neighborhood. Five laps, jogging pace. Keep the blood flowing, you harriers.

Azusa opened the door. "Hello everyone."

Ui was working on her blog while they were waiting. The usuals were at the table. Ritsu and Mio were chatting about the January football transfer rumor mill. "Ah, there she is," Ui said.

"I have the script here." She provided four copies, freshly stapled from the office. "Take a look."

"Hmmm...I see what you did here," Tsumugi said. "Basically, you decided to structure this whole this around interview questions. I can see how this can be done. Some background music, out pops a question, and then one of us answers this whole thing using the script. Repeat until done. Not bad."

"I like the layout," Ui said.

"Me too," Ritsu added.

"I can manage this," Mio said to the others.

"I'm glad you like the layout," Azusa replied, content on doing something the club could work with. "Essentially, I want to add footage from our concerts and add the input from various people around campus to get their opinions on the club. A good cross-section of the campus will be used for this video, and we place the good ones in the final cut."

"Looks like a plan, Azunyan," Ui said to her. "We're all in on this."

"Don't you think this is a bit too serious, though?" Ritsu asked Azusa.

"Ritsu-sempai, it's either one of two things: we use this route, or the club gets abolished again next year due to lack of members."

"I don't see any problem with it, either," said Mio. "Besides, there is no way we can use Miss Sawako's outfit in this."

"Okay, we'll go with this, then."

"Speaking of Miss Sawako," said Ui, "I won't be if she comes right about...now."

Right on cue. "Guys, I'm done."

"Miss Sawako! We knew you were coming! Well, at least I knew you were coming..."

"Psychic," Mio, Ritsu, Tsumugi and Azusa deadpanned suspiciously.

"Anyway, what the heck do you got for us now?"

"I have created a wonderful costume that will send shockwaves throughout all 50 U.S. states and Puerrrrrrto Rrrrrrico!"

"Did you really have to trill that last one? Seriously? And don't tell us you were cooped up in the sewing room on Sunday, too!"

"I was."

"Damn."

"Anyway, here it is!" She presented a Las Vegas showgirl-style outfit made with fishnet stocking that triggered a muted reaction from the club. "Eh?"

Mio fainted as her face turned blue. "Sorry, Miss Sawako," said Ui, "but we already have something to work with." The frog at the door ended up wearing it. Sawako sat next to the frog, arms crossed and a dejected pout on her face.

The club continued on with carrying out the script inside. "Hey guys," Ritsu said, "was she seriously going to make Mio wear that?"

"I don't know," Ui replied, "you tell me!"

"Seriously?"

"She's crazy. And she wasted her time, to be honest with you."

"Tch. Typical Sawa-chan."

"I think we should try to fit that costume somewhere in this script," Tsumugi said.

"You're crazy, too!" Mio exclaimed, her face still pale.

"Anyway," Azusa asked Ui, "do you know where the videos from our school festival concerts are?"

"Speaking of which, I don't believe we received this year's copy from Jun-chan yet."

"No, I think we can procure the disc from the Student Council room," Mugi said.

"All righty then; it's field trip time," Ritsu replied with a smile on her face. "To the student council room we go!"

* * *

"Yo. Did you guys need something?" Jun asked the five of them entering the room.

"Yeah," Ui said. "We need the tape from the school festival held a few weeks earlier so we can use it for our freshman recruitment video."

"You're in luck; I believe I have it." She took out a DVD and popped it in her laptop. "Have a look." It was coverage from Day 2 of the festival.

"Wow." High-definition video, and it was a solid capture of the concert. "Nice. This is amazing!"

"Like that, eh?" The magic club with their magic show, with a dove on one of the members heads. Clever.

"Stop watching that," Ritsu said, triggering a headbump.

"Awww, but I have I respect for the magic club's show. You killjoy."

"Hey Jun, you know what to do."

"Let me fast forward to your part," she said, reaching over and fast-forwarding the broadcast to the beginning of the concert.

"Our turn was much later," Mio reminded the others.

"Awww, we can't take a look at the Daiquiri sketches from the Comedy Club?"

Ritsu had her reservations. "Ui-chan!"

"Yes dearest Ricchan, I defer to the rest of you."

Azusa, in the style of a cat forged on curiosity, glanced over the numerous archives and anecdotes of a school founded in 1923. "Hey guys, here's the DVD from two years ago."

"Two years...ago?" Mio asked her.

Ritsu remembered. "Oh yeah, in the concert two years ago..."

Tsumugi remembered it well. "Mio-chan rocketed to stardom..."

They both did, sparkling. "With that legendary..."

"Don't say it!" It was The Incident, still fresh in Mio's head. And the rice bowl. That legendary pair of blue and white striped panties that Mio continues to wear today.

Regardless, the band procured all the footage from their past shows and brought it to the music room. Ui used her laptop to extract the scenes from the shows, where she saved them as AVI files.

* * *

"With that out of the way," Azusa said to them all, "we can officially move on to filming the daily life of the Light Music Club."

Yui and Nodoka brought in some lights that were borrowed from the Motion Film Club. Yui was holding the camera. "I am so happy that I am filming this thing," she said.

"Don't juggle it while you are at it," Azusa said to her.

"Okay." Her hand was shaking a little, but otherwise it was just fine.

"Are you guys ready?" Nodoka asked them.

"We're good," Mio replied. "But this is pretty serious business."

"The Motion Film Club was more than happy to lend us the equipment for this one. I talked to the club president earlier today, and she said it was all right because she is one of your fans."

"Again," Azusa stressed, "if you want to get people to come out and keep this club alive, this is what we have to do. Besides, this is about our daily life, so there is no script. Total improvisation. We just act the way we normally do." She flipped through a page of her copy. "We'll start with a scene where we take care of Ton-chan."

"Standby, Apple Charlie on 2, mark," Yui said, keeping the camera steady. "And...action!"

The five of them walked over to the turtle, which was on his afternoon swim. Azusa dropped some pellets on to the water, and the turtle snapped it up eagerly.

"We're doing this at the start?" Ritsu asked, bemused. Mio was similarly unwilling. Ui and Mugi were, though.

"Azunyan loves Ton-chan so much that she would do anything to make him happy," was Ui's reply.

"You got a problem with that?" Azusa asked them all, flustered. "Ton-chan is a part of us too."

"Anything...she would do anything..." Ui was still in her blissful state as Azusa went after her for the longest time.

"Cut, and print," Yui said. "Next!"

* * *

"Next, we have the tea-time scene," Azusa said, looking at the script. "Again, this is all improvisation." Azusa waved as Yui as a signal that they were ready.

"Standby, Apple Delta on 3, mark," Yui said, keeping the camera steady again. "And...action!"

"Ready, and...I got this one!" the five of them said, pointing to their choice of desserts in the middle of the table. Once again, Mio got another slice of chocolate cake. Azusa got the Mont Blanc and Mugi got the peach-strawberry cheesecake.

"I'll throw rock, you guys," Ritsu replied.

"Then I'll throw paper," said Ui.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" they both said, while the others ate. "Rock, paper, scissors!"

"And...cut!" Yui said. "Good work. On to the next scene."

"So far, so good," Nodoka said to her. By the way, Ui won...again. Ritsu was consigned to the blueberry cake, while Ui helped herself to a slice of the strawberry cake. That was two in a row.

* * *

"Next scene we have here is a study session in the club room," Azusa said.

"We're gonna need to be very quiet in this one, Nodoka-chan," Yui said to her.

"You too."

"Ready?"

Azusa flashed a thumbs up.

"Stand by, Apple Foxtrot on 4, mark. And...action!"

Ui was busy doing some note writing on the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia. The others were preparing for their admissions exams by looking at their guides. "Hey Mio-chan, you got this one wrong."

"I did?"

"Yeah. Actually, you're supposed to use the formula like this." Ui was indoctrinated in the world of calculus and algebra, and knew what to write.

"Hey, you're actually correct. Sorry."

She wagged her finger. "I keep reminding you, but you always forget. A scenario: suppose variable 'x' went on a shopping trip. Then variable 'y' is left all alone. And thus, y will be eagerly awaiting x's return. It shows how close this x and y are!"

Yui was impressed as she zoomed in. "Onee-chan at her best..." she whispered. Ui couldn't help but smile for the camera.

"We don't need you to fake this whole thing you idiot!" Azusa exclaimed, jumping out of her seat. "The concept is supposed to be the normal life of the Light Music Club."

"I thought this was what normally happens," Ui replied. "In that case, the need to drop a bucket on someone might be useful at this juncture of the filming."

"I said no bucket!"

"And...cut!" Yui said, after cutting to a scene on the whiteboard which showed x3=y3 = bucket. "Well done, onee-chan!" She turned to Nodoka. "I think that idea might be useful; what do you think Nodoka-chan?"

"I think not. We should redo the tea-time scene one more time."

"I agree. Let's do that tea time scene one more time, you guys!" Yui reset the camera.

Tsumugi brought a tray of confections to the table. "All right, this time we'll have some Japanese-style sweets."

"Whoopee! I'm diggin' it," Ui said. "Daifuku!"

"You got it."

"I thought this was sakuramochi," Yui said to Nodoka.

"You thought wrong."

"All right!" Ritsu exclaimed.

Azusa was loving it. "Great!"

"Jun was telling me that these guys don't really practice at all, and I can see why," Nodoka said to a nodding Yui, sweating.

"Mmm-hmmmm."

"Do you guys want me to pour some tea?" Ui asked the four of them.

"I'll do the honors," Mugi said, pouring freshly-brewed matcha into their cups.

"Standby, Apple Charlie Eagle on two, mark," Yui said. "And...action!"

The girls snacked on their daifuku with gusto. The sweetness and richness of the cake meshed with the bitter zing of the green tea, a harmonic balance of yin and yang.

"Cut, cut!" Azusa said. "Guys, it doesn't look like you weren't into this scene. You have to feel like you want to be here because you want to be in reality, right?"

"Sorry, we're just too bored with filming all this," Ritsu said to her.

"Mou! Let's try this again."

"Standby, Apple Charlie Bravo on three, mark," Yui said. "And...action!"

As Ui was eating her daifuku, she felt a twitch, causing her face to turn red.

"Cut!" Azusa exclaimed. "Ui-sempai, why did you want to hold your breath?"

"Actually, I was about to choke on one of the pieces."

"Be careful, Ui-sempai! Let's try this one more time."

"Standby, Apple Delta Foxtrot on four, mark," Yui said, keeping the camera steady. "Boy, this is hard work. And...action!"

"If I cut this into smaller pieces," Ui said while breaking her daifuku down, "I shouldn't choke this time around." Ritsu looked on with a suspicious look.

"Cut! Cut! Ui-sempai, seriously, you are very hard to work with!" said Azusa. "Act normally, will

"What is your sister doing, Yui?" Nodoka asked her with grave suspicion.

"I don't know; maybe Azunyan is expecting too much out of onee-chan and the others."

"I hope she's not doing this on purpose."

"She might be, she might not be. You never know, Nodoka-chan."

"If she is, I bet you she's doing this so that she could eat more of the daifuku."

"Really? I didn't know that." Rumors were just that, though: rumors.

"Shall we do it one more time?" Ui asked.

"For you, we might as well," Ritsu deadpanned, "since you are holding us up."

* * *

They went through cutting that scene one more time, which was a print, and did three more takes of the studying scene, the final one a go.

"And that does it!" Yui said. "Take a breather everyone; we are done with filming here." Applause from the congregation of seven. "Where to next?"

"Let's go to the roof," Azusa said to them all. "Follow me."

The afternoon skies formed a wonderful backdrop for filming this scene.

"We can see the many different wards within our metropolis," Ui said as Tsumugi, she, Azusa, Mio and Ritsu set their instruments down. "Over there: Shibuya. That cluster of buildings: Shinjuku. That needle sticking out: Tokyo Tower. And we can see the Palace, the Diet building, and all the other skyscrapers that grace its 23 wonderful wards."

Miss Sawako walked over to the five of them. "So you're playing here?" she asked Azusa.

"No, we're sending a message to the incoming freshmen with our instruments as the backdrop," she replied with a smile.

"Hey Azunyan," Yui asked, "after this, we have the interviews to do, right?"

"Correct."

"All right guys, I leave it to you to take it from here," Sawako said. "When you're done, bring the footage to me so I can edit it. I'll see you later." She was off.

"You got it, Miss Sawako. Thanks." Azusa turned to the others. "Are you guys ready?"

"We are!" Ritsu said from the other side of the roof.

"Good. You know your lines?"

"Yes, ma'am!"'

"Good."

"Everything is set and ready to go," Nodoka added.

"Well done. Yui?"

"Apple Charlie Bravo on 3, mark," Yui droned as Azusa took her place. This time, the filming for the message was completed in one take as the birds sung their afternoon song on campus. "And...action!"

"Ready, and...come join us!" the band said in unison to the background of "Gohan Wa Okazu."

"Welcome!" Ui added.

"Rice is awesome!" Ritsu chimed, just for camaraderie purposes.

"Cut and print!" Yui said. "Good work." Now it was time for the interviews.

* * *

The consensus opinion of the light music club, which was, naturally, positive, came from all corners of the campus.

"Wait, the Light Music Club?" asked one senior.

"I think they're on the third floor," her friend said.

* * *

"Miss Hirayama's guitar in that concert? Wait, was that Hirakawa? Oh, it's Hirasawa! I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Anyway, I think it was awesome!" said another senior.

"What?" her friend asked.

* * *

"Third floor?" replied another senior.

"But I don't hear them practicing," replied her friend.

* * *

"Donaiyanen!" a few sophomores said, pumping their fists in the air. They were at the nationally televised concert.

* * *

"Yes," Miss Sawako added, "I'm a proud Light Music Club alumnus. The style has changed quite a bit from my days, but I think it's still a wonderful group. And I think their faculty advisor is just so awesome! Wait a minute, that's me. Sorry."

* * *

"The Light Music Club?" Ichigo Wakaouji asked back at Room 3-2. "Personally, I'm not involved with them because I'm with the gymnastics team, but...why not?" A voice of solidarity.

* * *

Nobuyo Nakajima and Ushio Oota also weighed in on the subject. "A true story," Nobuyo said. "My dad recently bought a new car."

"A light truck," Ushio corrected her.

"Ouch."

* * *

Akiyo Miyamoto gave her thoughts back at the library. "Um...they're fun people."

A humble response.

* * *

Mika Saeki, Eri Taki, Akane Sato, Keiko Sano and Toshimi Nakanishi also gave their thoughts. "The Light Music Club is pretty good, but check out the Volleyball Club, too!" Prefecture champions and national semifinalists. Not bad.

"Join us!" Eri Taki added.

"Ready? Here it comes!" A pantomime game of volleyball on the stairs, with Mika serving as the libero. "Akane!"

"I got it!" That went on for a while.

* * *

Autumn's flowers were in full bloom in the gardens within the Girls Campus.

A sophomore saxophonist in the Jazz Club was interviewed. "They're a club with a solid, sweet sound. And they're doing a good job despite having only a handful. They are a class act."

They were an honest crew of hard workers, Jun Suzuki's Jazz Club were.

* * *

"The Light Music Club is the out-of-place artifact of Sakuragaoka High Campus for Young Women," said one member of the Occult Club.

"Like the stone spheres of Costa Rica?" her partner replied.

"In a way, that is one interpretation."

* * *

"Kitsune udon?" asked one of the co-op workers. "It comes with eggs for a limited time at your Sakuragaoka Girls Campus Co-op!"

"I believe they're asking about the Light Music Club," said one of her co-workers.

"They are? Oh, I'm sorry; I stand corrected. Well, they are a wonderful group. A lovely bunch."

* * *

"Onee-chan always tells me that every day is a blast in the Light Music Club," Yui said at the stairs, "and that's why I'm planning to join next April. I hope you will do the same and join us. I wonder if they will have tea and snacks...?" She pondered the question for the longest time.

* * *

"Well," Nodoka said, "I heard about this club from some connections of mine, and I heard that they hold their summer training camp at beach-side vacation homes replete with music studios. That's why aside from my role with the Council, I plan to join the club in the Spring."

She pointed at the camera, issuing the challenge as it zoomed in. "Are you?"

* * *

"They are a club that I know very well and that I am bit jealous of because of the luxuries they have," Jun said at the Student Council room. "And it is a club you will enjoy. I hope that once you become a proud member, you will submit your paperwork early so that you can get chartered by my guys on the Council and also be on your way to using our campus auditorium and the many classrooms we have available for you to use."

* * *

Ton-chan swims in his tank. But if he were to say something, it would be, "The light music club brought me here. When you become a member, you get to be in my company and I get to watch you raise the roof. You will enjoy it. I know I am. And don't forget to feed me, all right? Welcome, freshmen!"

* * *

Ritsu gave her thoughts while keeping part of her face off camera and speaking in a high-pitched voice. "Right, as soon as I joined the Light Music Club, I was accepted to the college of my choice, won the lottery, and grew taller, and even my skin looks better now! I've had nothing but good luck." She moved from side to side, blissful. "I can't believe how troubled I felt before!"

Remove that from the final cut, Miss Sawa-chan, will you? The frog dressed in Vegas drag testified to the truth.

* * *

A couple of freshmen were also interviewed. They were members of the Mio Fan Club. "The concert during the school festival was totally awesome!" said one.

"Miss Mio is the best!" her friend replied, captive.

* * *

Grandma Tomi was even interviewed while feeding her dog. This was requested by Ui. "I hope that in the future, you will make it your duty to perform at the shopping district's talent show next year. We would love to see you entertain us," she said. "Please give it a try."

* * *

All of these scenes, along with the concert footage, the queues of people lining up for the concert and fans, and practice footage were added in the final cut, which was created with Windows Live Movie Maker and encoded as a Blu-Ray quality WMV file.

The band looked at it from Sawako's disc, which was placed in Ui's laptop, brought the following day.

"How's that?" Miss Sawako asked the others watching.

"Well done, Miss Sawako," Ui said.

"That was awesome," Ritsu said.

"Nice video," Mio added.

"The interviews and the concerts meshed together made this a winner," said Tsumugi.

"Thanks, everybody," Sawako replied. "But you can thank Microsoft for their useful tool as well."

"I'm sure this was a lot better than the last time," said Azusa. "Aren't you glad I'm here to help you guys?"

"Azunyan and Miss Sawako," said Ui. "Time will tell if I am right, but as of right now, my opinion is that you two may have saved the light music club from abolishment."

"We'll see, Ui-sempai. We'll see."

"I hope you're right," Sawako added. "If this doesn't get this club new members next Spring, guys...nothing will."

"Total satisfaction, right here!" Mugi added as Sawako was intoxicated in the praise she was getting from her students.

The video closed with the key chains of the five members of Hokago Tea Time, spelling KEION-BU. The Light Music Club. And it transitioned to the message by the members.

"Come join us!" they said.

"I can't believe that it was done better than I expected," Azusa replied, captivated. "I echo Miss Sawako's opinion. If this doesn't get us any new members, nothing will."

Just for the sake of adding home-style originality to it, Miss Sawako added the scene of Azusa in the cat pose. "W...Welcome to the Light Music Club-nyan," she said.

"Couldn't leave that scene out, sorry," Miss Sawako explained, firm in her convictions before striking a pose.

The response was muted. "Cut out that last scene, will you?" Azusa asked her monotonously.

"Awwww, you guys are no fine. Fine. I will."

As Sawako pouted next to the frog in drag, a defeated figure, it was a good thing she didn't throw away the master project file on her own laptop. She would have the disc ready later that day, where it would be available for the club's use.

"I would like to open the tin," Azusa said, opening the cookie tin. "We're going to seal off this version," she said, placing the disc in.

"Are you sure?" Ui asked as Azusa went along her business.

"That's gonna be costly," Ritsu said to her. "You won't have your solo scene if we cut that out."

"Azunyan, she's got a point."

Mio weighed in on the matter. "I think, guys, we need to have a scene that features Azusa after having all those interviews with different people. You are going to be the president next Spring, so it's all right to market yourself that way."

Tsumugi still had Miss Sawako's camera. "Should we film one now then?"

"What?" The camera was rolling. "Wait a minute, I'm not ready!" She turned away, embarrassed. "This is all so sudden." Ui was anticipating something magical. Tsumugi was looking forward to the special announcement from the president-elect. "W...Well..." She had to swallow her pride and do what she did anyway. Azusa was not only Azusa. She was also Azunyan. And that's what mattered. "W...Welcome to the Light Music Club-nyan!" she said, striking a cat pose. The others were captive. "Cut that scene out!" she pleaded.

But the others liked it. It was four against one. And that would be in the final cut and Ui donned a set of cat ears on the Vegas frog in drag...which lost a feather.

* * *

"After the video was finally made available for viewing," Ui said while typing in her blog, "I still wondered whether or not it would be effective in getting new blood into the club. Only three members will be in for next year, and two more are needed to make it a chartered club. Regardless of the circumstances, we had a fun time producing this video, and we gave it all we had as the march towards our exams and graduation drew near. That's all the blogging I will do tonight. Wish me well at JWU. Yours, Ui Hirasawa."

She hit the Submit button after naming the post "Graduation Day Anecdotes Part 2." After turning off her laptop, she flipped the lights off while turning the heater on and closing the door. Yui and Jun were sleeping after playing on the PS3 for so long, with Yui opportunistically fondling Jun's bust in a blatant attempt to increase the size. And the parents were sleeping soundly in their own room.

Azusa began to stir. "Uggghhh...how did it get so hot in here?" Sitting up, she slowly took off her nightshirt, revealing her pink panties against glistening skin."

"Azusa...you look like the angel I always wanted to be with," Ui whispered, undoing her nightshirt and tossing it aside, revealing a simple white bra and panties. Her skin was also glistening with sweat, perhaps triggered by Azusa's presence.

Azusa's breathing became hitched as she studied Ui's figure, which crawled onto her bed and was lying next to her. A wave of euphoria resonated into her petite frame, and Azusa placed herself on top of Ui, stripping off her bra and tossing it aside, wrapping her arms her neck and letting her fingers waltz around her soft, pillowy shoulders and back as she drowned herself in Ui's rich, sweet, velvety kiss. Their tongues tangoed as one as each craved more from the other, as if their appetite for orgasms were never satisfied.

As Ui found herself on top of Azusa, she went down into her core as she wrapped her legs and thighs around Ui's torso as if to say, "I want you to pop my cherry so bad. It's here, and it's waiting for you. Come get it."

No sooner had Azusa bit her finger that she let out a deep, rich moan as Ui went to work on her core. Aside from strawberries, which she always bought for herself and for Yui, Ui always liked cherries. BOTH FORMS OF THEM. She craved it, and she savored it because she knew how to do it right. Azusa's moans and heaves got more pronounced as she caressed Ui's round ass. She could not believe that it was as soft as the pillows she slept with. So light to the touch. Smooth as a baby. And too irresistible to not have two hands full of. Ui moaned as Azusa nibbled at her ear, leaving teeth marks on her collarbone. Now it was her turn to pop the cherry. With a few flicks, a rub and a chomp, the damage was done. If someone had to deflower Ui and Azusa, it was Azusa and Ui, it their own consummation. The blood stained the bed sheets, but that could all be fixed the next day by tossing them in the wash and replacing Ui's bed with clean ones..

With a meow and a purr, Azusa fondled Ui's breasts, tweaking and sucking its nipples to the point that she was drinking them. She remembered, if only for a few seconds, not too long ago when she was a little baby and she was breastfed by her mother. Azusa was like a little baby kitty feeding off the teats of its mother. In this case, the mother was her wife -to-be, her fiancée. And tasted so good; it was almost like drinking soy milk from a carton and letting it dribble all over her. "Maybe they'll get bigger if I do this," she thought to herself. Tousling her hair aside, she massaged Ui's breasts a bit, and suddenly her own were also being fondled. "Is it working? Oh my God, it is!" she thought to herself while heaving. Azusa's bust grew two cup sizes.

Content, and with the waves of euphoria, Ui and Azusa went all out in laying their love on each other. Their panties were so saturated that they were tossed aside, leaving only their naked bodies to stimulate each other in the moonlight that shone upon them. Azusa was on top of Ui as their cores rubbed on each other, and they moaned and meowed amid their heaving breathing and increased body heat and sweat. It was so good, it was as if they were floating in the sky, their tears of ecstasy raining down on the city below.

"Ui...oh, how I love you so much!" Azusa cried. "Don't let go of me! I'm going to...I'm going to come!"

Ui herself could not stop the blissful episode she was enjoying with her lover. "Azusa...Azusa...I must be riding on the wings of an angel...is it true? Is it true...?"

"It is, Ui. I am your angel. Your only angel! Swear that you love me! Don't let go! Ohh! Ohhhhh!"

"Azusa...I'm...I'm going to...I'm going to come!"

"Let's come together!"

"Azusa!"

"Ui!"

And it came. "Ahhhhhhhhhh!" they both cried in tears, having reached the point of orgasm before they gave out. They embraced each other as their love saturated the sheets and the comforter and left Ui's room with a beyond-provocative scent, the result of their collective sex. They lay on the bed, two angels with no clothes and no worries in the world.

"I think we're going to be sleeping tonight and some, koneko-chan," Ui whispered in the ear of an embracing, smiling Azusa.

"I think so too, Ui," she whispered, fingering the curves of Ui's hips and mound of Venus before finally closing her eyes. "I think so too."

The moonlight illuminated their embrace as Ui and Azusa entered a peaceful slumber to end Graduation Day.

* * *

**END CHAPTER 25**


	26. For Those About To Rock, We Salute You!

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Chapter 26:**

**For Those About To Rock, We Salute You!

* * *

**

Azusa Nakano was the first to hear the sweet song of the birds outside the bed she shared with her fiancée, Ui Hirasawa. The early sunrise illuminated their bodies, while exposing the clothes strewn all over Ui's once clean bedroom. She realized that she had snuggled her face in Ui's voluptuous cleavage, her right hand clutching one of the breasts as if it were a pillow, and her legs were wrapped around Ui's thighs.

And they were wet. And naked.

Not that Ui seemed to mind. She liked the warmth and scent Azusa brought to her. It was so flowery, so wonderful, it felt like...home. Wait, she was home. It just added to the charm of being home. To be sleeping with the one she loved was a dream come true for her and for Azusa as well.

"Hey Azusa," Ui said, her eyes half-shut but her smile wide open.

"What's that, Ui?"

"I bet you had a wonderful sleep cuddling me."

"I don't know who else to cuddle, babe."

"Azusa, I've never had that feeling of being so warm. I mean, the heater's on, but why do I even need the heater? I already have you."

"I can say the same thing, Ui." They both giggled.

"Do you want to go take a bath with me? I think we're one hot mess on my bed waiting to get cleaned up."

"Ugh, I can't believe my precious panties are shot. You got a new pair or something I can borrow?"

"Plenty. I even got some stripes for you. Blue ones."

"Eh? Are you sure those weren't Mio's that you stole."

"Please. You can buy these things anywhere. I have to wash the sheets, the cases and the comforters. I think it's time for a house call; it's stained with all our juices."

"But first, to the bathroom!"

"After you, my little kitty."

"Save your teasing for later-nyan!" Azusa shot back with a giggle as the both went to take a bath. "And yes, I'll wear the stripes."

"Righteous, my honey."

* * *

"Heheheheh..." Yui Hirasawa was still on top of Jun Suzuki, groping her rack with a passion. "These feel so squishy..."

She sighed. "I know you've got kinkiness for these types of things, but I can't even move, and I couldn't get any sleep with you rubbing me, and now my panties are wet because of you violating my rack one too many goddamn times."

"They're wet, huh?" Yui licked her lips. "Do you, uh...want to take this further?"

"Wait! What? No, that's okay, I don't need-oof!" It was too late. The richness of Yui's kiss was as sweet as the Golden Chocolate Bread that Jun had a chronic fetish for. She surrendered her resistance as Yui enrobed her with her love. That went on for a while as Ui and Azusa consummated their love in the bath over endless moans of pleasure peppered with laughter and more moans.

* * *

Azusa got back into her regular clothes, while Ui changed into a shirt, jeans, a jacket and a cap. Ui adjusted the cap to the side for an additional touch. "Are you going somewhere?" Azusa asked Ui, who was now putting on some lipstick.

"I'm going to preview the university I'm going to with Mio-chan, Ricchan and Mugi-chan."

"Japan Women's, huh?"

"Correct."

"Are you just going to look around or something?"

"Not just that. I think the place has wireless access, so it should be a good time to do more blogging. I also need to prepare for classes. Are you going anywhere?"

"I'm going home to change back to my uniform," she replied, tying her hair back into her twin tails. "Class is going to start for me in about three hours, so I have time to get home."

While the academic year had already started at Japan Women's University, their first classes would not take place until tomorrow. That allowed Ui time to purchase the textbooks required for the first semester of courses.

"You better make it quick, else you're going to be late."

"I'll be fine. My house is not too far from here."

"Do you want me to give you money for the bus?"

"I have change."

"All right. Oh, that reminds me." She went over to Yui's room. "Hey Yui."

"What is it onee-chan?" she asked. Jun was trying to catch her breath.

"You know the new school year starts today, right?"

"New school...year? OH CRAP!" Yui grabbed her towel and made a mad dash for the bathroom to shower.

"It's only 5:10 a.m.; you don't need to be in a rush!" Ui sighed.

"Can't help it onee-chan, I don't wanna be late anymore!"

"Ui," Jun said with a groan, "your sister is too hard to handle. She copped a feel on me for six straight hours and I couldn't even sleep."

"Damn. I am so sorry."

"You're telling me that after I have been literally deflowered by your younger sister?"

"You're overexaggerating. You will survive."

"I will pray to God that you are right."

"You do that." Her eyes flatlined, Jun slumped over with a groan, a deflated, defeated, defiled and deflowered figure.

As Ui made her way downstairs, she saw a note on the table. It read: "Ui and Yui: We are returning to Germany. We wish you all the best. Love, Mom and Dad."

"And so they ride like the wind," Ui said to herself, putting on her apron to cook some breakfast.

Jun followed the wafting scent of eggs and bacon. "I am so hungry."

Azusa also made her way downstairs. "Looks good." Turning on the TV, she tuned in to the morning news.

"And today's hot topic of the day," said the morning news anchorman, "is the band from Sakuragaoka High School known as Hokago Tea Time..."

"Oh my god, we're on TV again!" Azusa said, shocked.

"Totally awesome!" Jun added.

Ui brought some heaping plates of eggs, bacon, sausage and pancakes with orange juice. America on a platter. "Eat up, you guys."

"Thanks," they both said.

"Hey onee-chan, where's mine?" Yui asked, downstairs and now in her uniform.

"Here it is," Ui said, presenting a platter that had a little bit more of what she was making for Azusa and Jun, plus a parfait.

"Whoa! Cool!"

"That should hold you until lunch, which I will make right now."

"Go for it!"

"Do you want me to make lunches for you, Azusa, Jun?" she asked, pointing with her spatula.

"Please?" they both pleaded.

"Boy, looks like I am everybody's momma today." They all laughed. "All right, you got it."

"But the way they played in spite of being seen as slackers was...unbelievable!" said one of the people interviewed on campus. "They may not be practicing as hard as most would expect them to, but when they put on a show, it's like the heavens opened up and the gods of rock gave them the jump start they needed! It's uncanny!"

"My classes at Keio won't start still tomorrow," Jun said, "so I'm going to buy my textbooks today."

"It's good to be prepared," said Ui, finished with preparing the bento.

"Thank you for the meal," the others said in unison.

"All right. I don't do this because it's my duty, by the way. I do it because I love it." Ui also fixed herself her own breakfast and prepared her own bento to place in her bag.

As Jun and Azusa took their belongings and left the house, Ui turned to Yui. "Listen up. I'm going to be on my way shortly, so I want you to lock the door when you leave. Close all the windows and turn off everything. I already placed some laundry in the wash, so let it finish. If it's done after I leave, just place it in the dryer. You got it?"

"Uh...what?"

"I knew it. You know what, I'll go ahead and turn off everything. I think the clothes are done." She checked the washer. It stopped. Ui immediately tossed the washed clothes in the dryer and turned it on to dry the sheets, cases and comforter for an hour.

"Onee-chan, I want to walk with you," Yui said. "Can I? I don't want to be walking alone too much."

"Sure. Let's go."

* * *

"Wow, I can't believe onee-chan is going to be a university student tomorrow!" Yui said. "I'm so happy for you!"

"I could have gone to one of the bigger universities," Ui replied, "but I made a promise with Mio-chan, Ricchan and Mugi-chan that we all would be studying at JWU and earning our degrees there. Now they will know what we are all about."

"Watch out, Hokago Tea Time takes Japan Women's University by storm! Extra, extra, read all about it and all that stuff."

"Exactly, exactly." They both made it to the train station. "This is where I will see you off. Good luck and I'll see you later tonight, Yui."

She gave Ui a hug. "Thanks, onee-chan." From the platform, Ui watched Yui wave goodbye, stumbling a bit as she continued on her way to Sakuragaoka, where her senior year was due to begin.

At long last, the train from the JR Yamanote line came, whisking her away to Bunkyo Ward, and her first-ever encounter with Japan Women's University.

* * *

"Mejiro Station...I'm going to get used to that place," Ui said to herself as she made the 15-minute walk to the Mejiro campus of JWU. As she got to the entrance, the university's chorus sang the alma mater from the Izumi Rooftop Garden. She followed the sound and watched the girls sing those memorable lyrics.

_Like the morning sun appearing from behind the clouds_

_Fragrant, crisp and fresh_

_Born here in Japan to fulfill_

_The mission of creating a culture in this country_

_Japan Women's University_

_The school we take eternal pride in._

"Well done, well done," Ui said, clapping her hands, applauding. The chorus giggled and smiled.

"Thank you," said one of the chorus members. "Wait a minute...are you Ui Hirasawa?"

"Yes, I am."

"THE Ui Hirasawa from Hokago Tea Time?"

"Yes, I am."

"Hey everyone, it's Ui-chan from Hokago Tea Time!" They all crowded around her, making Ui feel a bit uncomfortable.

"So you are a member of this Hokago Tea Time band everyone's been wondering about," said another member of the chorus.

"I went to your show yesterday, you were awesome!" another exclaimed.

"Can I get your autograph?" asked another.

"Can we get your autograph?" they all asked in unison.

Ui sighed. "One line please. Down came the first 17 shikishi boards and a group photo. It was morning, classes were tomorrow and she just arrived on campus...and she was already famous that it was hurting.

Ui realized that she was going to be inundated with autograph requests all day. At the student hall...40 autographs. Hyakunenkan...50 autographs. Shoukeikan...55 autographs. Izumi Promenade...60 autographs. Jinzo Naruse's house...30 autographs. The museum...35 autographs. 287 autographs signed, and they were all before lunch.

As she sat on a bench to catch a breath after purchasing her textbooks, a trio of familiar faces approached her. "There she is!" Ritsu Tainaka said.

"Ui! We're here!" Mio Akiyama replied.

"Ui-chan made it," Tsumugi Kotobuki said. "I love this place!"

"Hey you guys," Ui said. "Have a seat, have a seat." They all scrunched in. "Guys, you will not believe this, but I have been inundated with autograph requests. I, like, signed nearly 300 shikishi today."

Ritsu sympathized "Man, I hear you. We get to the campus, and suddenly, all the students are asking us when our next show is. And I'm like, hello? We don't even have our instruments set up, and you're asking us when our next show is? They're gonna have to wait, I'm sorry."

"They've been asking for our autographs everywhere," Mugi added. "It's crazy. We're stars, and this is just the first day."

"Man, my first class isn't even here," said Mio. "It's down at the Nishi-Ikuta Campus, and I am excited already."

Ui watched the cherry blossoms fall down. "It's like one day, we were still high school seniors sleeping in the afternoon sun after crying ourselves to sleep after the school festival. The next day, we're all sitting on this bench as college freshmen." They all watched the petals tumble. "I remember these types of things as if it were yesterday..."

* * *

They all remembered April 2009 like it was yesterday. They remembered when the petals fell down at Sakuragaoka High School, and how the campus was swathed in shades of pink and white, drenched in the afternoon skyline. The campanile rang the Westminster chimes once again.

Ritsu prodded Mio on back inside one of the rooms of the main building. "Come on, do it."

"But this is with that new member we finally got!" she complained, backed up against the wall of the storage room. "How can we do this?"

Ritsu drew on her own eyelids. "No, but she'll think we're boring if we take a normal one." She crept in closer. "At least I would think so."

"Only you would think that, Ritsu!" Mio was exasperated.

"Come on, just do it!"

Mio brushed her aside. "Stop it! I'll draw it myself!"

Outside, Ui, Tsumugi and Azusa, who was still learning the tricks of the trade. "Hey, are you guys done over there?" Ui asked.

"Give us a minute!" Ritsu said.

"Is something wrong with the president and the other girl?" Azusa asked the two of them in front of her.

"They'll be here in a minute, so don't worry," Tsumugi replied. She and Ui were shaking.

"By the way," Ui said, "you can call the president 'Ricchan,' cause that's our nickname for her."

"Ricchan?" Azusa wondered. "Hirasawa-sempai..."

"Just call me Ui."

"And what happened to your eyes?" They also decorated their eyelids with the whiteboard marker.

"N...It's nothing, really. Right, Mugi-chan?"

"What?" She turned to Azusa. "O...Oh, right. It's nothing. We just wanted to stare at our precious new member."

Azusa didn't get it as a bead of sweat came down her forehead. They turned away to blink a few times to get the dust out of their eyes.

"Gah, my eyes are getting dry," Ui said. "This hurts."

"I didn't know not blinking was going to be this hard!" Tsumugi added.

"Is this really a normal club?" Azusa asked herself. Word up, neophyte. It wasn't.

The storage room door opened. "Sorry to keep you guys waiting!" Ritsu said, causing Tsumugi's eyes to perk wide open. She produced a camera from the storage room. "Let's take this one. Hey Mio," she whispered to her, "you're the onee-sama in this one. Remember that. The onee-sama."

"Onee-sama?" Ritsu had been high on the Kuroko Shirai lately. "Why the hell should I care?"

"We're making this look like a family photo, you see."

"A family photo?" Azusa asked from afar. She was about to leave.

"Oh, it's nothing. Go ahead and get back in your seat."

As she did, Azusa affixed the camera to a tripod next to her drum set, set the timer and got the flash ready to go on cue. Mio (the older sister) and Ui (the second oldest) were standing behind the bench. Ritsu (the father figure) was to Azusa's left; Mugi (the mother figure with the Kewpie baby) was at her right.

"And so, to commemorate Azusa Nakano joining our club...we will take this photo!"

"What's that?" Azusa asked, looking at the Kewpie doll swathed in cloth. Ui and Ritsu placed their right hands on Azusa's shoulders. She was the youngest sister of this family. So the shot was taken. It was a moment to be cherished.

Fast forward back to February 23, 2011. The shot Ritsu took remained in the archives. Azusa took it from the scrapbook to reflect on what had been. Ton-chan swam in his tank as if to say, "I've never seen that photo before. You look good in it."

"So this was to commemorate my membership into the club..." Azusa wondered how her life would be, now that the others had moved on to JWU. She would be the new president of the club, a lonely figure, but one whose desire for big things up ahead never wavered. Azusa closed her eyes, and fell into a deep slumber that would be snapped by the entrance of her classmates for refreshments.

* * *

She looked around, surrounded by her classmates. They were all there. Tsumugi and Mio to her right. Ui and Ritsu to her left. "Wait a minute, I thought seniors didn't have classes anymore," she wondered over clementines and hot tea.

"Well, this is the day we receive a very important package," Ui explained to her, reaching out for another.

"An important package? Whatever do you mean?"

"Correct." Taking the clementine, she did a little optical illusion by gripping the fruit cleverly with her right hand. "And it stays in the air," she said, emulating the narrator from Dragon Ball Z.

"That's all been done before," Ritsu replied.

"That reminds me." She went over to her bag. "Grandma Tomi brought us some hassaku." Ui produced what was similar to a grapefruit, but with a different flesh and flavor." Back to the narration. "And it stays in the air." Well done, that Ui Hirasawa. After a few seconds, it dropped. "Sorry, I have to control my ki better; it was heavy."

"Quit playing with your food," Mio scolded.

"You got it." As she picked up the fruit, Jun came upstairs to the door. "It's here!""

"Hey everyone," she said. "I have it for you." It was a sample of the 2010-11 school yearbook.

"Excellent."

* * *

"So this is the yearbook, huh?" Azusa said. It was a pink yearbook that had the logo of the school and the name in gold: Sakuragaoka High School, Girls' Campus. The Boys' Campus version was in blue.

"That's correct," Jun replied as Tsumugi poured her some tea. Green tea this time. "I told the students we would be getting the sample copy today, and they all said they would be here, and they were all came to class."

"Looks like they couldn't wait to see it." All the members of the club each got a copy.

"Ready, Ricchan?" Ui asked her. Mio was similarly eager.

"Yes, ma'am. 1, 2...3!"

"I will open this, Mio-chan!"

"Go for it!"

They all took a deep gulp as Ui cracked open the sample for the first time.

"Holy shit," Ritsu gasped.

Mio was mentally floored. "Damn!"

"I've done it," Ui said, a huge weight thrown off her shoulders. "I've finally done it."

Ritsu was there. Mio was there. Yui was there. Tsumugi was there. They all were there.

"Oh my fucking God, why is there a glare on my fucking forehead?" Ritsu screamed, enraged.

Mio was traumatized. "D...Do I look okay?"

"Calm down, my children," Ui said. "You must...huh?"

Ritsu and Mio brought the yearbook photos to Jun. "Why the fuck did you use this photo?"

"Hey, don't put the blame on me now; I wasn't the person who chose them."

"Wait, Jun-sempai," Azusa pointed out. "Guys, look over there."

"I will never drop you again," Ui said to the hassaku in remorse for her dirty deeds done dirt cheap. I'll never play with food ever. And I promise to clean Yui's room even when she's sleeping."

"Ui?" Mio and the others took a look at her yearbook picture. She had the trimmed bangs, as expected. As Ritsu was about to laugh, Mio gave her a slap to her forehead to shut her up.

"Cheer up, Ui," Mio said to her, "you actually came out pretty normal."

"It really looks like you and it's cute!"

"Liars. All of you. How the hell does that look like me?" she asked them in a monotonous, grave tone.

"Eh? U...Um...help me out here, guys...!"

"I guess I do like kids?" Jun said to her, trying to cheer her up. Ui still stared blindly at her hassaku, the empty eyes getting wider.

"That's being too honest you jackass!" the others shot back at her.

Ui eventually got up. "Hey Jun, this is only a sample, right?"

"Yes."

She skipped over to Azusa, holding her hassaku. "Azunyan! Bring a camera! I need a new photo!"

"Eh?" She was shocked.

"Sorry, but that's not going to work," Jun replied. "They're already processing copies of the yearbook as we speak. And they need a photo taken with a proper camera."

"Then I'll bring a proper camera!" Ui said, still flustered to the point of being inconsolable.

"I told you, we don't have that kind of time."

"Huh?"

"Besides, we'll never be finished if we start taking personal requests."

"Please! I beg you! This is not an ordinary photo! This is the friggin' yearbook! It's be like this forever! It'll still be like this after a hundred years have passed here at this school! I can imagine an alumnus of the school being in her 80's or 90's, retiring in a tea house in the countryside, and her great-grand-niece was reading the yearbook and she sees the unusual bangs! You gotta help me!"

"But that's good," Jun said. "People will notice you that way."

"I told you...that is not going to work!"

"Ui-sempai is so selfish," Azusa said. The flatlined eyes of Mio and Ritsu agreed, though Tsumugi was sympathetic of the allergies she had to put up with."

"And Jun is just being Jun," Ritsu added.

"By the way, I have a problem I want to share," Jun added.

"What that? Shoot it through us."

"It's about Miss Sawako."

"Oh?"

"The plan was to have her check the sample today and send it back tomorrow," she explained as she got the sample from Mio.

"Did something happen to her?" Azusa asked. They were all concerned.

"Huh?" Ritsu was wondering as well. "Ahhhh..." She had something up her sleeve. Here it comes. "She will be missed," she wistfully said, twirling her short, light brown locks.

"Yes, she will, very much," Tsumugi agreed.

"Huh? What happened to her?" Azusa wanted to know.

"I can't even mention it," she said softly, trying to find the words, a way to convey her feelings at this point.

Azusa could not believe the news. Was Miss Sawako Yamanaka really dead? Or was she just ill and couldn't make it?

Ritsu washed herself in the sink, turning on the water remorsefully, reflecting on the good deeds (or lack thereof) regarding her teacher.

Azusa was on the verge of tears. "Mio-sempai?"

"She caught a cold and couldn't come to school," Mio explained to her.

Ritsu glomped Tsumugi. "Yay! Surprise! You thought the worst had come to pass, didn't you?"

Azusa turned around a pouted. "Oh jeez, quit joking around now! I thought she was dead!"

"Aside from the worst being averted," Ui said to them, "I think it's weird to hear that she caught a cold."

"I don't want to hear that from you," Mio deadpanned. She knew that a spoonful of the hassaku may have helped her cause.

"Huh?" She thought about it. "Wait a sec, Miss Sawako is checking on it, right? So, if she asks for a photo to be changed, will it?"

"I would think so," Jun replied. "That's why she's checking them."

"I see. So, in spite of the cold she has at home, I could head over to her apartment and ask that this shot should be swapped. And she'll tell me we can use a cuter photo. Perfect! I am going!" Ui caught her hassaku before it fell from her hands.

* * *

"So you're actually going to do this for me?" Jun said to her, amazed by her friend's determination as they got to the shoe-changing room.

"But of course!" As always, Mio, Tsumugi and Ritsu would be with her on this journey. "This is for our yearbook."

"Mio-sempai, she seems more enthusiastic than usual," Azusa said to her, amazed. "It's uncanny."

"Tell me about it. I've got myself a pretty good ideas as to what's on her mind right about now."

Ritsu could not believe she wanted to tag along. "What a pain in the ass."

"To view her private apartment...so quaint and comfy..." Tsumugi wanted to experience the life of a commoner once again. And now she got her chance.

"Well, what do you fucking know, we have ourselves another over-excited member standing to my right. Glory fucking day."

"Maybe we'll get to see her private life!"

The others looked at her with suspicious glances. They hadn't even began the long journey to her apartment, and already Mugi was getting off in her mind.

"All right!" Ritsu shouted to the troops. "Let's roll!"

"So you're going, too?" Mio asked her before turning to her twin-tailed kouhai. "Anyway, best of luck with your afternoon classes, Azusa."

"You got it."

Mio smiled. She could trust Azusa to get the job done because she expected nothing less from her. She followed the others, but Azusa stopped her for a bit.

"Um..."

"What is it?"

"Will you be sto-" But before she could say something, the campanile rang. "Oh, never mind. I'll be on my way." With a bow, she took off.

"What was that about?" Mio asked.

"Who knows," Jun replied.

Azusa was going to say, "Will you be stopping by the music room on your way back for afternoon practice?" But she was running late, and needed to head back to 2-1.

* * *

Ui turned her iPod on to a random playlist of AC/DC songs as they made the walk. Sawako's apartment was approximately 20 minutes from campus, which meant that by minivan, it took about 10-15 minutes in traffic to get to Sakuragaoka. Jun had provided Ritsu with a map and directions of how to get to her apartment by foot and bus. Via bus, it took less than 10 minutes.

"This way," Ritsu said, pointing.

A guard husky welcomed them with a few barks, startling everyone, especially Mio. Who ended up in the way of a snarling bulldog drinking his water. "Let's take another street," she gasped, holding on to Ritsu for dear life.

"Ease up, Mio. We are on the right path."

"That's a good puppy," Ui said, cuddling the husky with her love as Tsumugi looked on with interest. "Aren't you such an adorable thing, you!"

Ritsu was not amused. "Quit befriending these mongrels!" But that was the thing about Ui and Yui. They both loved dogs.

* * *

After heading to a nearby Lawsons to make some purchases, the four of them continued on their path. They were now three, maybe four minutes away now. "Her place isn't very far away," Mugi said to them as they continued on their way.

"This is the great thing about Miss Sawako's house," Ui said to them. "She lives close, meaning that she can sleep past eight. It's not a bad lifestyle."

Ritsu looked at her map. "There it is." To their left was a tall, white apartment with wooden balconies and brown stucco walls. It looked quaint and modern, and wasn't that bad of a surrounding.

"Hmmm, it looks way normal that I thought it would be," Ui said to the four of them as she turned off her iPod and placed it in her coat. "I thought Miss Sawako's place would be like a dungeon, full of skull motifs, other relics of the occult, torn drapes and the sounds of her Flying V resonating through the window. When somebody is bringing something up for a delivery, the sound goes, 'I've been waiting for you! DIE!' Then the door opens, and Miss Sawako enters, saying 'Who is it?' And then the delivery man gives the package and is on his way. Like that."

"Good imagination," Mio said, "but how the hell is that possible?"

"Anyway, let's get going," Ritsu said, making their way to the entrance.

She grabbed her by the scarf. "Wait a minute."

Her face turned blue from nearly being choked. "What is it, Miss Mio?"

"Um...I think she might be bothered if we suddenly drop by."

"Why would you say that?" Ui wondered. "She has a cold, right? I would think that's she's feeling pretty lonely being all by herself."

"And we brought her some drinks too to make her feel better," Mugi added, showing her the goods from Lawsons.

"I know that, but we're invading her privacy..."

"Her privacy?" Ritsu asked her. This was an area of concern.

"L...Like...she might have her boyfriend over or something..."

The winds from the west blew across the Tokyo skies, howling, hissing, crying. And they just stood there outside, coming to terms with that possibility.

"I didn't even think of that possibility." Mugi said, her fists pumped with Ui's.

Ritsu was beyond interested. "Good point! Let's go! Now this I gotta see!"

"I gotta check it out too!" Ui said, chasing after her.

"Let's hurry, you guys!" Tsumugi exclaimed, bubbly as ever.

"Mugi, you as well?" Mio was shocked that the others wanted to see the possibility in the flesh. Eventually, Mio had to follow the three of them. She had no other choice.

* * *

Going up the stairs, they went to the fourth floor. "Let's take a look," Ritsu said. "Apartment 403...where is that...?" She counted the doors. "One, two, three...it's this one."

It was the door next to them.

"I'm feeling a bit nervous, but excited, too," Ui said.

"Time to ring her up."

"Hold on!" Mio exclaimed as Ritsu was about to press it. "This is actually Apartment 405!"

It was too late, Ritsu had already pressed it. This was the Yamakawas, not the Yamanakas.

"Ack!" they all said, fearful.

She tried to run for it, but Mio showed her body strength by lifting her a foot off the ground back to where she was before her failed escape of futility. "Get your ass back here!"

"We should apologize properly," Tsumugi reminded them.

They all waited for someone to answer the door. It was a wonderful day outside: birds singing, trees swaying, children playing...wait, there weren't any.

"Looks like nobody's coming out," Mugi said to them.

"I guess nobody's home," Ritsu replied.

With a collective sigh of relief, they continued looking for Apartment 403, which was actually on the side bordering the street.

The door opened to their right. It was Miss Sawako. With a gasp, the four of them all hid behind the corner where the stairs met before she could see them.

"Why the hell are we hiding?" Ritsu asked Ui.

"That's because..." Ui wanted to just for the heck of it. She didn't want to make it look like they were hitting on the neighbors.

The four of them peered over the corner in "a master is out" mode to see if she was looking. "It's Miss Sawako," Ui whispered to them.

"Looks like she's doing better than we thought," Mugi said to them.

"But she looks like she's snooping about, too," Ritsu added.

Thinking it was just a false alarm, Miss Sawako closed the door and went back to bed.

"Maybe," Mio said to them, "she really has a boyfriend. It could be that she closes the door and says, "The neighbors are gone now, so you can come out.' And out comes this guy underneath the kitchen sink. 'Man, my back hurts,' he says. Something like that."

"Good imagination," Tsumugi said, content. "It's very possible."

"Why the hell are you so goddamn cheerful, cheerful?" Because she was. So they had to investigate.

The four of them slid over to the door stealthily. "I'm going to ring it," Ritsu said.

Miss Sawako opened the door. Ui, Ritsu and Tsumugi whipped out their school-issued notebooks, which were similar to the yearbook's design, only smaller. "Police!" Ui exclaimed. "You are under arrest!"

"No thank you," she said, closing the door.

Ritsu put her foot out as a door stop. "We know you're hiding something, lady! Spill the beans NOW!"

"You're completely surrounded!" Mugi added.

"Your mother is crying, too!" Ui cried. Mio just shook her head, wondering if this would ever work. She had to play along, after all.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Sawako wondered. This was all child's play.

"Why were you snooping around?" Ritsu growled, her level of rage quantified. "You must be hiding something!"

"It's about my trash. I was thinking about taking the trash out without changing my clothes."

She wanted none of that. "You liar! Did you really think we would-"

"Tone it down," Mio said, giving her a nice, big, shiny headbump.

"She had it coming," Ui said to Mugi, pointing at her. Mugi replied with a thumbs up.

* * *

Still, Miss Sawako shook her head in disbelief. She was amazed that they were able to find her. "You even asked for my address?" she asked the four of them. "You came just to see me? It's just a cold."

"No," Ui said, "To be honest with you, we came here to conduct some very important business."

"Business, you say? What is it?"

"Well, it's really not a big deal, but we still need this corrected," said Ritsu, striking a pose while looking all sparkled.

Sawako had a confused look on her face. "Th-Then...can we do it tomorrow?"

Ui stopped the door. "No, no, no, we must have it done today! Please!" she said, replicating the weathered and worn-out tone of a 50-year old salaryman. Hesitantly, Miss Sawako obliged and heard them out. Ui and Ritsu shared another thing in common when it came to leaving their sanity behind at the door: they gave it a good-old defenestration.

* * *

Back at Sakuragaoka, Class 2-1 was full of the usual discussions and jibjab about school, life, pop culture, food, and so on and so forth. These sophomores were set to be seniors by the first of April, and the talk about doing well as the next batch of upperclassmen flying the flag for the Girls Campus was on everyone's minds.

"Hey Azusa, what about today?" asked incoming Student Council President Nodoka Manabe, sipping juice with her and Yui.

"Haven't made my mind up yet," she replied, deep in thought.

"Let us know when you've made up your mind," said Yui, snacking on a few sticks of Pocky. "I'm flexible either way you choose."

"Got it. Thanks." Was she going to go with Yui and Nodoka, or was she going to practice? Or was she going to meet up with the others? It was a tough decision to make, but someone had to make it. And that person was her.

* * *

The four of them laughed as they thought about the decision to visit Miss Sawako when she least expected her to. "I still don't know why we chose to go for the 'You're Under Arrest' tactic, but I suppose it worked," Ritsu said, still watching the blossoms tumble.

"You overdid it," Mio said, giving her another headbump.

"Mou!"

"I needed to do that, so I can get it done properly," Ui said. "I didn't like my hair, and I overdid trimming my bangs because I sneezed."

"I will miss my time at the school," Tsumugi said, brushing away a tear.

"We all will."

"Hey Ui," Ritsu said to her, "we're heading over to the Nishi-Ikuta campus to preview. You coming with us?"

"No, I will be staying here," Ui said.

"All right, we'll see you tomorrow. Mio, Mugi, let's go."

"See you, Ui," Mio said.

"Take care, Ui-chan,' Mugi added as the three of them waved goodbye.

As she saw them take off, Ui decided to scarf down her bento, then buy her textbooks before returning to the garden, where she flipped open her laptop to blog. "We didn't know if Miss Sawako was going to accept our request for us to redo our photos because of the time issues. But we had to place our trust in her to get it done. We really didn't have any other option...and the hourglass was ticking..."

* * *

"Not a bad room you got here," Ui said to Miss Sawako as the four of them walked in.

"Like it? I like to keep in clean every now and then, too."

Tsumugi brought out some cups from her kitchen. "One, two, three, four, five," she counted as she made some tea. Naturally, Miss Sawako liked tall things, so the blue and white mug was going to be hers. The teapot whistled.

Ui took a look around. The rumors were true: Miss Sawako did have a plethora of light novels, and she was a sucker for Maria-sama ga Miteru. But those weren't the only books in her shelves. She had encyclopedias, dictionaries, textbooks from her university days, and even a dissertation or two. She was not just a sexy thrash metal star. She was also an academic, and was one of the best at Meiji University. And there were posters, photos and painted motifs on the walls. Near the window was a wood-and-metal rack of fashion and beauty magazines. Above her high-definition TV—which gave her access to every cable channel domestically and internationally— was a digital radio and CDs of metal, alternative, hard rock, and even a few adult contemporary discs. Sawako was very free-spirited in what she did.

"The inside looks normal, too," Ui noted. "It's not bad."

"You just said that earlier," Ritsu deadpanned.

"Just reiterating."

"And I don't see how a boyfriend could be hiding anywhere."

"This is boring!" They both said with a pout.

"Hey, you don't need to rub it in, you two," Sawako replied. "You guys were the ones who wanted to barged in anyway!"

"In any case," said Mio to her, "it's wonderful that you are doing just fine."

"I appreciate your concern for my health, thank you. True story: I slept in until about noon, and because of that, I think my temperature started to go down." She noticed Ui opening her closet. "Hey, don't open that!" Curiosity can kill.

"So this is your old costume, eh Miss Sawako? Interesting. And I love how it emphasizes the bust. All purple and stuff."

"Sexy, baby!" Ritsu added, her hormones getting a jump start to rocking and rolling.

"Guys, I have a bad feeling my fever is coming back, sad to tell," Sawako groaned, favoring her forehead.

Another item caught Ui's fascination. "Ooooh!" She went over to the bookshelf. "Check this out! It's Miss Sawako's old yearbook!" This was teal-colored, reflecting the choice of the student council at the time. This year's student council went for red. The previous council from four years ago went for teal.

Tsumugi finished preparing the tea! "Let me take a look!"

"Oh god, it really is returning," Sawako gagged, her face turning blue.

"Hey, Miss Sawako looks adorable in this one," Ui said as Mugi brought the green tea. "So young. She looks like Tommy February6."

"Who's that?" Ritsu asked.

"Tomoko Kawase from the brilliant green."

"Oh, her. Yeah, I know, right? She's very photogenic."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sawako wondered.

"That reminds me," Ui said. "We wanted to show you this." She brought out the sample yearbook Jun lent her. "Take a look at this."

"Hmmm? What could this be? Is this the business you were talking about?"

"Correct," said Mio. "Jun needed your approval on it, so we brought it with us."

"I see. Thank you. Give me a minute while I take a look at the contents," she said, scanning the pages.

Ui went on. "There is one photo that I feel needs to be changed."

"What could that be?"

"Right...here." She pointed to her yearbook photo with the trimmed bangs. "The one for Ui Hirasawa."

"You? I think it looks all right."

"No, it doesn't! I tried to trim my bangs, but I sneezed and I ended up like this! I want it redone."

"Really? But you look cute like this. It brings out your character."

"Damn." Ui was getting desperate. And desperate times call for desperate measures.

Ritsu was wondering about that selfish reaction coming from her. "Just give up already," she deadpanned.

"You're not helping."

Tsumugi also noticed something unusual. "Wait a minute, what's this? It's on Ui-chan's left shoulder."

They all took a closer look. That was Ritsu being a true sister in their Class 3-2 photo.

Mugi was still suspicious. "A hand..."

Mio, Ritsu and Sawako backtrack, horrified by the sight.

"Wh...Wh...What's wrong with that picture?" Sawako exclaimed, traumatized, a few split ends peeking out.

"I think this was Ricchan," Ui said, scratching her head at the reaction from the others. "Uh, guys?"

"Are we looking at it incorrectly?" Ritsu exclaimed, freaking out.

Mio couldn't say anything as her eyes turned into horizontal ellipses.

Tsumugi looked at them as Ui continued to sip her tea. "But...there really is..."

Slowly but surely, Mio, Ritsu and Sawako returned to the center of the table for a closer look.

"I still think this was Ritsu being a true sister in this Sisterhood of Rock," Ui said in her conviction.

"When did we take this picture?" Ritsu asked her.

"Late last April, I think."

"I think this was before our trip to Kyoto, right?" Sawako asked them.

Ritsu was stunned. "That long ago? Nobody would remem—" But she remembered her placing a hand on Ui's left shoulder. "Okay, Ui might be..."

"Hmmm?" the others asked, turning to her.

"So, I guess we'll also be swapping that picture."

Ritsu was about to head for the door to get away when Mio stopped her. "Ritsu," she said, a dark, blue, ominous aura surrounding her.

"Eheheheheheheheheheh...Awwww, crap." She was going to get it now. "Yes, dear?"

"You just remembered something, didn't you, love?"

"Eheheheheheheheh...maybe? What? N-N-Not really!"

Mio turned Ritsu around, then showed her the class photo. "What the hell is THIS?" She tried to get her to look at the photo for the longest time before sandwiching her face in it. Captured. With her nose in the centerfold.

"Ouch!"

"You did, didn't you?" she growled. "Stupid motherfucker!"

"W...Well...I was only trying to be casual."

"I knew it," Ui said, fists pumped.. "Thank you for confirming that, Miss Akiyama. And another case for Mio-chan's tsundere cause has been recorded."

"That was your hand?" Mugi asked her.

"I wonder how I should put it..."

"Look at me, you jackass!" Mio snarled. Ritsu shrieked as she was about to get another headbump thrown her way. "It was yours, wasn't it?"

"Well, um, you know, it's just...OW!" And there it came. _Ding!_

"Hey Mio-chan, no violence in my house, or I will ask you all to leave!" Sawako warned.

"I'm terribly sorry," Ritsu whispered, bowing like a stray puppy dog on her hands and knees. Orz mode. What a mongrel, that Ritsu Tainaka, who prostrated and worshipped her ladyfriend like a goddess. "Please forgive me. And smack me harder when we get home; I get off faster when you do your thing!"

"Can you smack her one more time, Mio-chan?" Ui asked her.

"No, don't," Sawako said authoritatively.

"What a fucking jackass," Mio said under her breath.

"One more case for Mio being the most tsundere of the whole bunch," Ui said to the teacher.

"And why should I care?"

"Because you do?"

She sighed. "Psychic amazon." she turned to the others, pointing at the class photo. "Anyway, I think we can leave it as it is because Ricchan will be Ricchan, and it can't be helped."

"I agree," Mugi concurred.

"You agree with everything," Ui said to her.

"Makes the process go faster. I'll prepare dinner while you check the rest of the pages."

"Are you sure?" Sawako asked.

"But of course."

"We should clean the room and laundry while we're at it," Ui said.

"Good idea."

"But are you sure you don't want me to do the cooking, Mugi-chan?"

"While I appreciate your fine cuisine, I think I leave it to someone else to do it," Sawako said.

"Suit yourself, Miss Sawako."

"I'll work on the dinner," Mugi said, "so..."

"I prefer the kitchen as well," Mio added.

Ritsu got up. "All right fellas, let's decide who get to do what with a little rock-paper-scissors!" Of course, Ritsu could cook, too.

"You got it!" Ui said.

Sawako was surprised by the move. "What? With rock-paper-scissors?" They were a versatile bunch, this group of four were, but it has to be settled in the fairest of fashions.

"Yeah, is there something wrong with that?" Mio asked her.

"Not really..." It couldn't be helped.

"Ready?" Ritsu asked.

"Rock...paper...SCISSORS! Rock...paper...SCISSORS! Rock...paper...SCISSORS! Rock...paper...SCISSORS!" they all said.

Sawako now had the aura around her as she prayed for a miracle. "Mugi-chan, please win! Mugi-chan, please win! Mugi-chan, please win! Mugi-chan, please win!"

In the end, Ui won with scissors dominating paper. "I win! I got the scissors! V baby, whooo!"

"I knew it."

Not that Ui's cooking was bad; on the contrary, it was terrific. It was always terrific. But she was hogging up all the attention when it came to providing the feast to counter the famine.

Ui rolled up her sleeves. "Time for me to show you a little bit of what I do at home." She cracked her knuckles, checked the refrigerator for some vegetables and meat, and got to work cooking something up with whatever was available.

"No need for you to be some excited; we have to do this all the time," Sawako said. She turned to Ritsu. "She's a natural at this, isn't she?"

"She is. Hey Mio, let's go ahead and do some cleaning, shall we?"

"Quit horsing around while you're at it."

Mugi clapped her hands. "This will be so much fun!"

* * *

Sawako continued to look at the pages in the yearbook. "Hmmm...not bad. How's it going over there?" She took a whiff. "Smells good."

"Can't talk; dinner under construction."

"Got it." She continued to flip the pages, inspecting every shot and every moment. "I think I should make it to class with a vigor in my step tomorrow," she said to herself as Ui continued to do some stir-frying. She was also checking the rice in the cooker to make sure the consistency was optimal.

Sawako heard her mobile buzzing and answered. "Hello?"

"Miss Sawako?" It was Azusa. "Sorry for calling you all of a sudden."

"Azusa-chan, is that you?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"How are you?"

"Fine, and you?"

"Feeling better."

"Are Ui-sempai and the others still there?"

"Yes, they are here. Did you want to come over, too? Ui and Ritsu are rolling up their sleeves and are cooking dinner right now."

"No, but thanks for the offer. Anyway, do you think they'll be there for a while?"

"I believe they will be here for a while because I am still looking at the yearbook pages, checking if there are any mistakes that were made."

"I see." Yui and Nodoka wanted to know.

"They may be back later, they may not; it's going to depend on how everything pans out. My guess is that they will be here for a while."

"All right, thanks for letting me know." Azusa hung up.

"So what did she say?" Nodoka asked her.

"Miss Sawako said that they're still at her place, so it should still be a go."

"Do we really need to do this without the others knowing about it?"

"If they learn about this, they will be worried."

Yui smiled. "Always going the extra mile for onee-chan and the others. We don't expect anything less from you, Azunyan. I don't think we should waste any more time in doing this. Let's go!" Yui was in a nutcracker mood, marching as she went along.

"All right, Yui, calm down, calm down," Nodoka said as the three of them went on their way to the music room to play.

"I'm fired up, Nodoka-chan; I can't help myself."

* * *

Back at Sawako's apartment, her clothes hung in the wind to dry at the veranda. Sawako herself continued to glance through the pages of the yearbook as the Four Tops played "I Can't Help Myself" on the radio.

"Looks like this is close to a go," Sawako said to herself as Mugi and Mio put the laundry tubs away.

"Go ahead and throw the water over there," Tsumugi said. "There isn't anyone in sight." Ritsu and Ui were still cooking.

"All right." A toss, and the dirty water splashed on the grass and trees below.

"Look at that sunset, it looks so beautiful." She pointed to a certain snow-capped peak. "And there is Mount Fuji."

"Boy, we can see that thing from everywhere in this city, can't we?

"Ahahahahah! You bet we can!"

Sawako watched as she saw them do all the house work that she normally did herself. It was as if these were her own children, doing the work for her while she watched like a mother watched her babies grow up.

These were not ordinary students of hers.

This was a special group that would do more than their share to make their instructor happy. That's how grateful they were. For Sawako, it was as if she already had a family of her own. It was as if she was a single wife with four kids, and all of them happened to be about the same age, in the same club in the same school in the same city in the same country.

Ui. Mio. Ritsu. Tsumugi. Azusa. Yui. Jun. Nodoka. These girls were family to her. And there was no doubt about it.

"I think if we add a little bit more soy sauce, it might taste a little bit better, right?" Ui asked Ritsu.

"You're asking me, Miss 'I Can Cook Better Than You'?" she replied with a laugh. "No, seriously I think we put enough to it. We don't want to make this thing too salty for Sawa-chan. I'm a conscious person, so I am light on the soy sauce. At my house, one bottle lasts a year."

"Ooooh. I will note that in the future."

"Can I take a look?" She did. "Looks like this is a go. Keep stirring the soup a bit more; we need the consistency to be a bit more fluid."

"Roger that, Ricchan."

"All right."

Sawako could only smile as she saw Ritsu and Ui team up together. They both knew how to cook, and something good was in the works. She opened up a page featuring the light music club which saw Ui look as if she was about to drink Mugi, Ritsu and Mio along with her tea. That was on top of a photo with Hokago Tea Time at their best.

Mio, Tsumugi, Ui and her windmill, Ritsu and Azusa. They were Sakuragaoka's Sweetest Sound for a reason. Full of energy and drive with a quintessential, feminine touch. Unmistakable. Original. And always, always special. It brought a smile to Miss Sawako's face every time she remembered the memories from this yearbook. These memories she had with this group of individuals would endure for years and years to come. She closed her eyes, and dreamed of a moment from months gone by, when she took this photo of the illusion. Mio wasn't cooperating, sadly.

* * *

_"Mio-chan, you need to hold still, or your legs will show," Sawako said to her during the shoot. Mio was grimacing while holding still as Ritsu and Mugi were also feeling like they wanted to give out._

_"I'm trying..."_

_"Ui-chan, move the cup more to the right."_

_"Like this?"_

_"Yes, like that."_

_"Hurry up, Sawa-chan; I'm about to give out!"_

_"All right, ready? Say cheese!" And the shot._

* * *

To relieve such a memory as that warmed Sawako's heart and made her feel better. These photos of the light music club were her chicken soup for the soul. This was her dream: to see the light music club flourish, along with her school, for many years to come. New memories to be shares, new dreams to be fulfilled, new paths to walk on all over again.

The radio switched over to AC/DC, and a certain anthem that tugged at the heart strings.

* * *

_"Oh Yeah, yeah_

_We're roll tonight_

_To the guitar bite_

_Yeah, yeah, oh_

_Stand up and be counted_

_For what you are about to receive_

_We are the dealers_

_We'll give you everything you need_

_Hail hail to the good times_

_'Cause rock has got the right of way_

_We ain't no legend, ain't no cause_

_We're just livin' for today_

_For those about to rock, we salute you_

_For those about to rock, we salute you_

_We rock at dawn on the front line_

_Like a bolt right out of the blue_

_The sky's alight with the guitar bite_

_Heads will roll and rock tonight_

_For those about to rock, we salute you_

_For those about to rock, we salute you_

_For those about to rock, we salute you_

_Yes we do_

_For those about to rock, we salute you_

_Oooh, salute!_

_Oooh, ooooh yeah_

_We're just a battery for hire with a guitar fire_

_Ready and aimed at you_

_Pick up your balls and load up your cannon_

_For a twenty-one gun salute_

_For those about to rock - fire_

_We salute you_

_For those about to rock, we salute you_

_Those about to rock - fire_

_We salute you_

_Fire_

_We salute you_

_We salute you_

_Come on, whooa_

_For those about to rock, we salute you_

_For those about to rock, we salute you_

_For those about to rock, we salute you_

_For those about to rock, we salute you_

_Shoot, shoot!_

_Shoot, shoot!_

_For those who give_

_For those who take_

_Ain't gonna get tired,_

_Won't take a break,_

_We salute you!_

_Yeah_

_We salute you!_

_We salute you!_

_We salute you!_

_FIRE!"_

* * *

Sawako slowly opened her eyes, the smile never leaving her face. And she saw a banquet before her. Ui and Ritsu were done cooking. Mio and Mugi were done cleaning. And Sawako's heart never felt lighter.

"Do you have this cookbook at home?" Ui asked her. Cooking: So Easy A Monkey Could Do It.

"I think my dad has it and placed it in the living room but I don't touch it," she replied, folding the clothes against the late afternoon sky.

"But this has some recipes I have never heard of. Does the bookstore in the shopping district have it?"

"They do, and it's only 1000 yen, so it's not that expensive to buy."

"500 recipes...not bad."

That smile never came off Sawako's face. She could retire and let these four do all the work for her. They were like her children in a way. The waves of contentment made her feel so much better. She would be ready to return to work, so long as she had them. She stroke the photo of the group, blessing them for all that they did for her during the time she was her advisor...and her teacher.

"Looks like it's going to be quiet for a while," she said to herself.

"Try this, and see if you like it," Ritsu said to Tsumugi, offering a sample.

She gave it a sip. "This is good! Well done."

"Ui and I did it together. I wanted mine's a bit spicier, she wanted hers a bit milder. In the end, we compromised for something in the middle. Not too bland, not too strong."

"I think it's a knockout."

"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner."

"And I really like the blend of spices you put in this one."

"Tee hee!" Ritsu looked at Mio, who was blushing like crazy. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I found black underwear." A black lace side-tie panty. With matching bra. Purchased at Victoria's Secret.

"Hey you guys, look!" Ui said to them.

"What is it?" They all saw the sun set over the hills of the Tama region.

"Three...two...one!" And the sun went down.

Ui saw Sawako's old friends from Death Devil make their way over. Jane, Della and Norimi Kawaguchi, a.k.a. Janice. And Mihoko was with them, too.

"Well lookie here," Ui said to the others. "The past and the present meet each other once again."

"Hello, kids," Norimi said from below. Death Devil and Hokago Tea Time (minus Azusa) reunited once more.

* * *

Norimi opened the door. "Excuse our intrusion!" they said.

"I brought everyone since you said you'd caught a cold and were lonely at home," Norimi said to Sawako.

"I forgot, sorry."

Mio, Tsumugi, Ritsu and Ui packed their bags. "We'll be on our way and leave it to you guys," Mio said to her.

"Are you sure?" Norimi said. "You should stay and join us for dinner."

"We have to return to the school to stop by."

"And it would be cramped with nine people here," Ritsu added.

"My apologies," Sawako said, embarrassed. "I understand."

"I just realized something," said Jane. "You're all graduating soon, right?"

"That's correct," Mio replied. "This March, we are. Right?" Ui, Ritsu and Tsumugi nodded. "And we're all going to Japan Women's University in April."

"Japan Women's University. Congratulations. That's a pretty cool place. I love the rooftop garden over at the Mejiro Campus. You should check it out. It's fantastic."

"So what's going to happen to the Light Music Club next year?" Norimi asked them. "Please don't tell me it's on the verge of being abolished again."

Ritsu looked at the others in embarrassment. They also wanted to figure out what will happen to the club as well. "I think..."

"How many members do you have?"

"We got one who will be returning next April, and a couple more who said they will be joining so we only have three returning."

"Don't worry," Miss Sawako said to them. "The Light Music Club won't be going away. I'm going to remain the advisor and I plan to help recruit new members in the Spring."

The four of them were amazed by Miss Sawako's determination. What Hokago Tea Time did for her, she wanted to continue for future versions of the club. "Cool," Ritsu said.

* * *

The four of them made the journey back to Sakuragaoka as the members of Death Devil feasted on Hokago Tea Time's home-style cooking. Ritsu was reflective as the sun continued to set. "I wonder what she meant by what she said over there."

"I think she wanted to be positive and optimistic regarding the future of our club," Mio inferred.

"Think so?" Ritsu asked, uncertain in her ladyfriend's hypothesis. "Hmmm...But you know something? She sounded really confident."

"We must have done something good to help her out," Ui said to her. "We must have done something to encourage her to keep the club alive."

Tsumugi's fists were pumped with anticipation. "I would think there are people who want to join our club next year. What do you think?"

"Hmmm..." Ritsu wondered about that possibility.

"No, I believe that Azunyan, Nodoka-chan and Yui will get it done," Ui said to them. "They'll get new members, and that should be that."

"Easy for you to say," Ritsu replied, not believing that it would be that easy. "There's a possibility that all the work those three do will be in vain."

"Call me crazy, but maybe Miss Sawako is suggesting that we are repeating our senior year," Mio said to them. "We just don't know it yet."

Ritsu and Mugi shrieked. "You are crazy," Ui said, smacking her forehead. "But not just crazy. MIO-crazy."

"Thank you. I try."

At last, the four of them finally made it back to the campus. They heard a noise from the music room. It was unmistakable.

Ritsu was the first to hear it. "That sound..."

"It's Azunyan!" Ui said, running.

Mio tried to stop her. "Hey, hold on, Ui!"

But she couldn't. "Let's go!" Ui quickly changed into her indoor shoes, her uwabaki, before making the dash down the hall and up the stairs. She made it to the door.

"Azuny-"

But before she could open the door, Ui could hear a noise inside. "Let's practice a bit more," Nodoka said to Azusa, relaxing by the piano. "Ui-sempai and the others aren't coming back for a while, right?"

"Yeah, Miss Sawako said that, but...it's really late already."

"We can keep on going, though. This new bass guitar that I brought with me needs to be worked on. I've only been playing on this sparingly, and I bought this six months ago. I wanted to try it out. And besides that, we have another song we're playing at the Freshmen Welcome Concert. We need to keep going!"

"I think it's fun helping out, since I know how to play this" Ui said, donning Gitah's sister guitar Hiro, "so I'm totally fine with it."

"You sure?" Azusa asked her as Ui let go of the door.

Ui smiled, knowing that the pulse of the light music club continued to beat. And so the words of Miss Sawako rang true. It wasn't going anywhere.

"Ui-chan!" Mugi said to her. Mio and Ritsu followed her here.

"Don't interrupt their practice," Mio added.

Ui turned to them, smiling. Azusa opened the door, startling her. "Ui-sempai."

"Run for it, guys!" Ui said to them, making the mad dash.

Azusa tried to stop them. "Sempai! Um..."

"Good luck with the Freshman Welcome Concert!" Ritsu said to her.

"Love and peace!" Ui said as they made their way down the stairs and out the building.

Azusa was surprised that they would give her, Yui and Nodoka their privacy. But she didn't mind. She appreciated those things, as well as the little things in life. That's how she was.

As she watched Ui, Mio, Ritsu and Tsumugi leave campus, Azusa, Nodoka and Yui played the band's official song, their de facto anthem, "Fuwa Fuwa Time."

The four of them were elated to be close to graduation. Their spirits were high, and the time they spent on campus would never be forgotten. They passed by every hall and stairway of the now-vacated campus, coming to terms with the time that had passed them by. As they left the building, they all turned to the front.

"Ready, jump!" Ui said.

The four of them jumped for their campus one final time. And they remembered when they did it the previous April.

* * *

_Miss Sawako was doing the shooting for this one, as always. "Sorry, I was late this time," Tsumugi said to the others._

_"You were also a little early on that one, Ui," Mio added._

_"I was? Sorry."_

_"Guys, you need to get it right this time," Miss Sawako said. "I need to get back to the faculty office to do some work."_

_"Yes, ma'am." She turned to the others. "All right, we jump when I say 'jump.' You guys ready?"_

_"You got it!" said Azusa._

_"Ready, jump! Ready, jump!" Tsumugi said to herself._

_"Hey Mio, you should practice this one, too." Ritsu said to her._

_"I've gotten it right every time, so I'll be fine." Unfortunately for her, she would screw this up._

_"Everyone ready?" Sawako asked them._

_"Yes, ma'am!" they all said._

_"Get set!"_

_They all ran. Ui brought the signal. "Ready, jump!" And the shot was taken._

* * *

"The spirit of the Light Music Club would go on, in spite of all the naysayers saying otherwise," Ui wrote on her blog from the rooftop garden. "So long as they were at least three keeping the fire burning, the memory of those four who started Hokago Tea Time endured forever.

"To this day, there were students on campus spanning all classes who talked about the success and the legacy the Light Music Club left on the students, their school, their city and their country. Over a three-year run, Hokago Tea Time and the Light Music Club had left an indelible mark on the Girls Campus of Sakuragaoka High School. We blazed a path that thousands of student will walk on and walk on all over again.

"I will blog in a few days' time. I want to turn my attention to the classes I will take. A new chapter has begun in my life, a new path that I plan to follow. I walked on it before as a high school student, and I will walk on it all over again as a freshman at Japan Women's University. Yours, Ui Hirasawa."

With a sigh, she hit the submit button, turned off her laptop, and placed it in her book bag. She looked at the large assortment of textbooks she had to purchase. "God, this is going to be one fun opening semester," she said to herself.

She was about to exit the garden when she saw a person in long, flowing, black twin tails and a white summer dress.

"Azusa..."

The wind blew Azusa's bands away, causing her hair to be let down in cascading shades of black. She walked over to Ui, embracing her.

"So you decided to follow me here after classes were done, huh?"

"I didn't want to leave you alone by yourself," she replied.

"Take a look," Ui said as Azusa savored the sights and scents of the Izumi Rooftop Garden. "This is going to be your home if you decide to follow us here and you pass the admission exams."

"I hope so. I want all five of us to be together."

"I wouldn't want it any other way."

Azusa and Ui shared a long, rich, deep kiss as a flurry of sakura petals from below rushed upward and surrounded them as the sun continued to set across the campus, Tokyo, and Japan. It was heaven's salute to those willing to walk on all over again.

* * *

**THE END**

A/N: And this, the master project I have been working on since September of 2010 finally draws to a conclusion. I hope you enjoyed this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. Be sure to give a little R x R while you're at it, too.

Thanks for reading "Walk-ON! All Over Again"!


	27. Have A Drink On Me

**Walk-ON! All Over Again**

**Omake:**

**Have A Drink On Me

* * *

**

Satoshi Tainaka was the happy-go-lucky younger brother of Ritsu Tainaka, the newly-minted graduate of Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus and the drummer of Hokago Tea Time's youthful imagination. He never was much of a magnet for girls, though he did have his way with some of the female peers at his elementary school. In fact, the girls were quite jealous of Satoshi because his sister was one of the most popular people at Sakuragaoka, and in effect, the community. Satoshi didn't care much about the attention he received, but he did his best to accept the fact that his sister could smash skins and bang cymbals like no one else could. Well, maybe Keith Moon or Neil Peart, who knows.

Riding on his bike through the streets of the suburbs of Western Tokyo, he kept in mind the situation in Fukushima Prefecture, and every time he rode his bike, Satoshi kept the families that were lost in his heart. Cycling was, for Satoshi, a way to get past the rigors of elementary school, which was wrapping up pretty quickly. Junior high was creeping around the corner, and the need to be ready was stressed by his parents, Yasumi and Sadatoshi Tainaka.

Sadatoshi was one of those fair-but-firm types of fathers. A former member of the band P-Model, Sadatoshi expected the best from his children, and was proud of Ritsu's accomplishment of graduating. However, he was disappointed that his son was not opening up to peers of the opposite sex, and detested Satoshi's tendency to be an introvert. But he hoped, and prayed, that one day his young son would come out of his shell and make love to someone he would live to be with in the long haul. One day. It wasn't coming yet, but it was coming soon.

At last, Satoshi reached the Lawsons Station supermarket, where he parked his bike and went shopping for food. Ritsu was going to cook some more hamburger steak again, but this time, he was going to have to buy the ingredients. Up until that day, it was Satoshi minding the house, with Ritsu running the errands over the weekend. Not this time. The roles were reversed, and Ritsu had a mountain of laundry to clean.

Interestingly enough, Satoshi was able to meet up with one of his friends, also doing a run. "Hideki, it's me!"

"Oh, hi Satoshi, how are ya?" It was Hideki Motojima, a fellow classmate that would be following Satoshi to the same junior high school he was accepted to.

"Guess what, bro? I have to do the shopping for the groceries. Fuck, I wanted to be home today. This sucks."

"Does it? I know: it must your sister again, huh?"

"The wench. She's making me do this. I can't believe it."

"Awww. I feel for you, dude. Anyway Sato, what else have you been up to?"

"Nee-chan is now a Japan Women's University student."

"Congratulations. Must be proud, huh?"

"Not really. As for me, I am stuck in junior high with you and all the other clowns. And the women!"

"Hey Sato, quit calling me a clown. Sure I do have a sense of humor but you don't have to rub it in! And quit throwing the chicks in the mix. Not that I mind, but come on!"

"Heh. You should get used to me flattering you, for all you're worth. Ah, would you believe it; here's the Lawry's and the Lea & Perrins Nee-chan was nagging me about. Two off the list." Satoshi tossed a couple of items into the basket.

"I heard that your sister was up to something with her friends a little while back. You never told me about it. I think it was about some snow globes and stuff."

"Oh yeah, I didn't. Sorry. Wanna hear it?"

"Sure."

The two of them finished purchasing their goods before sitting on a bench outside the store. "Anyway, this is how it went regarding Nee-chan. She was with the others at the Hirasawa house the other day looking at some snow globes they purchased..."

Satoshi talked with Hideki for the longest time about the situation. It went on and on and on, but Hideki was all ears. Actually, it helped matters that he drank a bucketful of green tea before the discussion ever took place, but that's beside the point.

* * *

"Now these snow globes are just what the Hirasawas ordered, ladies," Ui Hirasawa said to her younger sister Yui, Ritsu, Mio Akiyama and Tsumugi Kotobuki back at the Hirasawa house after feasting on some watermelon. "And the world's all right with me...Aren't these things a dandy or what?" Ui believed in Santa Claus, for he was the real deal. St. Nicholas of Tyre, in his time, was the real deal, and so was his legacy.

"You know," Mugi explained, "I wasn't able to bring this to you as a present for the summer festival, so the season is off by months."

"Doesn't matter. When you're here, it's always Christmas."

"Thank you."

Mio had her tied back in a ponytail. "I think you have to consider yourself fortunate that you can afford business trips to places like Finland and elsewhere. We're stuck here. it sucks."

"I would love to visit Finland one day," Ui said. "Hey, we should head down there and have a gig over in Helsinki."

"What's Helsinki, onee-chan?" Yui asked, tilting her head.

"That's the capital of Finland, Yui."

"Ohhhh."

"But that isn't to say that we haven't gone places. Do you remember when we were young?"

"What about it, onee-chan?"

"You must have forgotten."

She pondered the question. "I, Yui Hirasawa, am so prone to short-term memories that it's not even a laughing matter."

"Don't worry, Yui-chan, no one's laughing at you," Mugi assured. Ritsu was about to break out before Mio gave her a headbump.

Yui snapped her fingers as Mio looked at her camera. "Actually, you're right, we did make a visit a long time ago...we were doing this: eating this big-ass ice cream cake with a lot of bananas and chocolate, and I had cream all over my face and I was saying, 'thanks for the dessert, onee-chan!' Right?"

"Short-term memory has officially been converted into photographic memory," Ui sighed as Mio took some stock photos to post on her scrapbook and deviantART profile. Ritsu smiled as she looked at one of the snow globes purchased from Finland.

"Is that all she can remember?" Mio asked her with suspicious eyes.

"I suppose so. But I can neither confirm nor deny."

Ritsu had her mind made up. "All right, guys, shall we get going? Our flight's waiting."

They all turned to her. "Absolutely, Ricchan, let's head off!" Ui exclaimed, flashing a thumbs-up. "It's go time!"

A lone jet sprayed contrails across the Tokyo skies, sending a possible signal of what was to come.

* * *

"So your sister and the crew wanted to go on a flight, eh Sato?" Hideki asked him back at the Lawsons.

"Nee-chan wanted me to stay at home to keep watch over the house," Satoshi grumbled. "She left me behind."

"Awww, that's too bad."

But they didn't go on a flight just yet. There was one other person they needed to get."

"Oh? Is that so? Cool. Hey, I wanna hear more about it. Can I? Pretty please, Sato?"

"Sure, sure. Let's take a walk, and I'll tell you." So the two of them continued along, Satoshi disseminating the details to Hideki with every passing step as they left the Lawsons.

-OOO-

Ton-chan was busy swimming in his tank, which was moved to Azusa's house temporarily. Azusa was called in to take care of the club's pet turtle. "All right, here's some food, open wide," she said, dropping some pellets. "Good turtle. Aren't you the most adorable thing?"

He swam around, spinning as if to say, "Yes, I want you to praise me more."

Azusa heard her mobile phone ring out loud. "Who could that be?" She checked the message. It was Ui. "Begin intervention!" she said. "All systems G-O stat!"

"Oh boy, Sempai, I mean really," she groaned. Ui and her eccentricities.

-OOO-

The Max Burger was in business as it introduced a new line of items for its loyal customers to choose from. Azusa made her way up the steps. "Hey Azusa, over here, kid!" Ritsu said, waving to her.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Sakuragaoka's Number One Welcome Wagon coming to pay me a visit," Azusa said.

"I thought it was the other way around," Ui wondered as she gave her a drink. "I bought you a banana shake to quench your thirst. Hope you like it."

"Thanks, Sempai, but I didn't really expect this. Thank you anyway."

"Good to see that the tan is gone," Ritsu said. "It's disappointing to see that on you."

"You look awesome without that tan on," Tsumugi added. "A youthful feeling, a jovial sensation..."

"A baby-like frame for a baby-like state of mind."

"Oh you really didn't have to put it that way, Ritsu-sempai," Azusa said with a look of disgust.

Mugi produced a package. "I got you a souvenir. Here."

"Oooh, thanks. What could this be?"

"A snow globe."

Her face sparkled. "Awesome! This looks great. Thanks, Mugi-sempai!"

"My pleasure, my dear."

"I know my little Azunyan was going to love that," Ui said. "Isn't that right, sugar?" Azusa giggled. Those two were inseparable.

"Your Azunyan can't be this cute," Ritsu deadpanned. "Wait, what am I saying? Oh Ritsu, thou liest!"

"So what was that message all about?" Azusa asked Ui.

"As a matter of fact, Azusa, we're going to be heading off somewhere," Mio explained.

"Really?"

"We're not heading to the beach, either. We're thinking about heading off overseas!" Ui said, fired up.

"So that why I got the message on my SMS," Azusa replied, putting the pieces together. "But didn't we go to a Summer Festival already? And you guys are now graduating...this might be a bit too much."

"We're going after we wrap up the admissions exams, Azusa," Ritsu explained.

Her ears perked. "After-graduation travel, huh? I see."

"And we're not going to leave our Azunyan behind," Ui added, embracing Azusa.

"Are you sure?" She was stunned.

"I think it's better if we all go together," Tsumugi said.

"Okay everyone," Ritsu said, "shall we go?"

"Where are we going?" Azusa wondered.

"Follow me."

* * *

The girls took off for the FamilyMart, where they stared at racks and stalls of travel guides, highlighting destinations from all six continents.

"There are a lot of guides here," Ui said to the crew.

"Oh yes, plenty," Ritsu added. "If we take a look, we can decide where to go after we're doing wrapping up those goddamn exams."

"Are you sure about all this?" Azusa asked, skeptical about the plan set in place. "I mean, you have to prepare your exams, and your lessons for these types of things are coming up fast, aren't they?"

Ritsu turned to Azusa with a look of surprise. "Don't worry about it, Azusa. We got this under control! We can kill two birds with one stone; it's our steelo!" Sweat drops came down Azusa's head.

"As well as performing our music fo-r the masses," Ui added. "You can count on us to get the job done, I promise you!"

Azusa was still skeptical. "I don't know..."

"Exams seem to be the easy part in all of this," Mio said to them. "This is actually more difficult that I would imagine."

"All right, I know what's up," Azusa said, bowing her head in consignment. "This is all your escape from reality as you people know it. God save my sempai..."

"Absolutely not!" Ritsu shot back in Azusa's face, triggering more sweat drops. "Do you think we're gonna be that one-tracked?"

"I study all day and all night for these types of things, dear," Ui added, also in Azusa's face. "I told you, we got this under control."

Mio was still in her reflective state. "It's all right...it's all right to keep a positive frame of mind, isn't it?"

Azusa could sense that Mio wasn't herself, and now she understood the pressures that came with the exams. She wondered if Mio was going to be okay and be admitted to Japan Women's University with the others. It was going to be a challenge.

-OOO-

Hawaii. Australia. England. The States. These and others were tantalizing options, but where would they go? The debate began.

"So, ladies of the Hokago Tea Time Music Society," Ritsu asked, "Where should we head off to?"

"A lot of choices, guys," Ui. "We need to pick one."

Azusa took a look at one of the guides, a guide to some of the big cities in the States: Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Miami, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, and San Diego. "Well, we're just in the planning stages for this, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to whittle some options down." One of the sights that caught her eyes was Harlem's Apollo Theater in New York City, where African-American entertainers like Ray Charles got their big breaks. "Cool, the Apollo Theater!"

"Have you heard of that show called 'Showtime at the Apollo'?" Tsumugi asked the others. "That's where the show was filmed. It's pretty good."

"Lot of jazz performers there," Ui remarked. "That's what my Azunyan warmed up to it." Azusa also took notice of other venues like Greenwich Village's Blue Note Jazz Club—another NYC Landmark, and Bethel, New York, the home of Max Augur's farm where the world-famous Woodstock Music & Arts Festival took place back in 1969. She remembered seeing the footage of Jimi Hendrix performing the Star-Spangled Banner in front of the masses; albeit many had already left, others opted to stay.

"New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there's nothin' you can't do!" Azusa sang. "Now you're in New York, these streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you! Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York!"

"Empire state of mind from Azunyan," Ui said.

"Jay-Z fan much?" Ritsu sneered.

"Or Alicia Keys fan, by any chance? Going back to that, the States is where Gitah was born. It's a Les Paul, pride of the state of Wisconsin. And that state has my name on it. Sort of. It would be a sort of homecoming for Gitah if we decide to go there."

"Really? This isn't your step-child, honey. It's just a guitar."

"Not just any guitar. It's Gitah the Guitar, Ricchan."

"Mio-sempai, what interests you?" Azusa asked her.

"England. There's a lot of venues to play music in. There's Wembley, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, and it's not just London that is awesome. There's Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds...this may be a small country, but it sure packs a punch!"

"A lot of great bands came from England: the Beatles, the Dave Clark Five, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Clash, and so many others."

"Oh yeah, and you can cross Abbey Road down at the EMI Studios. There's plenty of live concerts and musicals to go to. Oh, and there's the O2 Arena."

"That's also where black tea was made popular by the masses," Tsumugi added. "I have been there about 100 times in my life, and they actually prefer black over green."

"Is that so," Ui inferred. "We should try drinking black tea as well, then."

"It doesn't have as much of the antioxidants as green tea, but it still has potency."

"I'm thinking about some of the traditions we have here, and I think stole some of them from the Brits," Ritsu said. "You heard of the chimes we have at school?"

"What about them?"

"Big Ben has the exact same melody, and that where our chimes originated from. The Palaces of Westminster."

"Hmmmm. As expected, Master Ricchan is wise."

"Good observation, grasshopper."

Mio looked at Ritsu intently. "Where do you want to go?"

"Ahhhh. For me, it's all about Hawaii. This is our very first time heading out of the country, and based on that, it is important that we head to the Aloha State. I can take part in hula lessons, and both you—Ui and Azusa—can take up playing the ukulele."

Ui flattered her drumming tomboy partner a bit. "Oh Ricchan baby, that's something we didn't expect from you, eh?"

"I like relaxing on the shores of Waikiki when I have a chance. That's it: maybe I can try my luck at hanging ten. Stretch my arms to the sky, both feet on my longboard, ride my way home."

"Oooooh."

"See, you have to realize that when it is warm like it is down there, ice cream is good. Or as they say it in Hawaii: ono."

"Ono?"

"Yes, ono."

"Oh no, I just learned some Hawaiian! Yikes!"

"Bad joke, Ui."

"I know. But Hawaii would be a great option."

Azusa turned to the blonde keyboarding virtuoso across from her. "Mugi-sempai, what about you?"

"No preference, as long as we all go together."

"That was quick," Ui and Ritsu replied.

"I've decided that I don't have any preference, either, so long as there is good food to be had," Ui added.

"There is good food everywhere in all these locales we're considering, silly," Mio and Azusa said in unison.

"I guess we haven't reached consensus yet," Azusa added disappointingly.

"The villa will always be available if you want," Mugi replied.

"Are you talking about the one in Finland?"

"I would love to go back there. Seeing an aurora borealis at this time of the year would be a treat."

"And in Finland, they got plenty of air guitar contests, right? Every major city has it. They love their hard rock."

"Right."

"Air guitar, you say?" Ui got up and did a few licks. "I would give it a go."

"Yeah and because it's air guitar, you wouldn't use Gitah in competitions like that," Mio remarked, "so you know what's up."

"Okay, you can stop now," Ritsu groaned, waving the enthusiasm off as Ui got back to her seat. "Anyway, ladies, we don't need to rush this whole ordeal because we're got loads of time to make a decision. We're just throwing up ideas at this stage in the process."

* * *

The evening began to arrive slowly but surely, and the traffic was light. At a local bookstore, Azusa continued to do some searching on her own. "Foreign travelling, huh? Hmmm..." Soon enough, she ran into Jun Suzuki. "Jun-sempai, it's you."

"Hello, Azusa, how are you?"

"Good spirits."

"Great to hear. Hey, you thinking about heading off somewhere?"

"Well, we were talking about traveling overseas down at the FamilyMart, and we're still brainstorming, so to speak."

"I see. Well, I'm also planning to go on a trip with the Jazz Club and the Student Council."

"We're thinking the same thing, too! Awesome!"

Jun showed her the guides. "I want to check out Kyoto one more time with the others. When I went last time with the seniors, I couldn't get to see all the places I wanted to check out."

"Ahhhhh."

"So do you know where your club wants to visit?"

"Overseas, Jun-sempai. We're planning to leave the country for a few days."

"Interesting. You should check out places like Mohenjo-Daro in Pakistan, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Peru's Machu Picchu...anything that is a World Heritage Site as deemed by UNESCO."

"I think the former would be a bit dangerous to visit, given the volatile situation there...and how do you pronounce it?"

"Say Ma-chu-Pi-cchu. Try it."

"Matsu Pitsu?"

"Try it again."

"Machu Pitsu?"

"Again."

"Matsu Pichu?"

"Practice several times and it will roll off your tongue, I promise you. Anyway, I'm gonna be on my way, so take care all right? See you."

"See you, Jun-sempai." Azusa blushed, embarrassed. "I was barely able to catch my breath." She turned, and saw UI's younger sister. "Yui!"

"A~~~zunyan!" A glomp.

"Now I can't catch my breath...urgk..."

"Fancy you being here, sweetie!

"Did you come here to buy some books?"

"Onee-chan wanted me to buy some for her travels." Yui replied, thumping her chest.

Azusa tilted her head to the side. "Really? Has she made up her mind?"

"Not yet, but she wants me to buy up a storm."

"Oh boy. Here we go..."

Back at the Hirasawa house, it was evening, and Ui continued to look at some of her options. Flipping open her laptop, she proceeded to check out some of the destinations online and checked to see if they fit her fancy. After a few minutes, she went back to preparing for the exams. Ui always liked to visit Australia, the home of AC/DC, one of the finest rock bands of all-time. She also savored Canada, the home of the Arcade Fire, who would go on to fame with their Grammy Award winning album "The Suburbs."

After about 30 minutes of studying, Ui took a look at the guide for Australia. The door opened. "Come on in."

It was Yui. "Hey onee-chan, what are you doing?"

"Just...glancing over what I purchased."

"Aren't you supposed to be studying? By the way, I made some tea."

"Go ahead and set it down" Ui said to Yui. "While you were making tea, I was spending 30 minutes looking at the exam materials."

"Anyway, onee-chan, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, I don't want to be all alone in the house while you're away on your trip..."

"Come on Yui, everything is gonna be all right. I've always wanted to go on something like this for quite a while."

"Still, though..." Yui sighed. "Oh well, I guess I can handle taking care of this house if you're away and I'm here. I bought this for you."

"What could this be?" Ui asked, taking the book.

"This book has magical powers. It will ensure that you will come back home safe and sound!"

"Um, Yui, I don't think this is a life-or-death type of deal... but I guess I'll take it. Thanks."

The countdown continued.

* * *

"All right everyone, we're going to go ahead and discuss our plans for the trip," Ritsu said to Ui, Mio and Tsumugi near one of the libraries in the city.

"I'm going to go send a mail to Azusa-chan," Mugi said.

"We have to make a decision, peoples," Mio warned.

Ui turned to the crew. "However, we have something we need to do."

"What could that be?" Ritsu asked.

"I'll let you in on the details: follow me."

About an hour later, Azusa was passing by the library by herself, checking the messages on her mobile. "'Today in the park'?" she wondered. Naturally, Azusa didn't have a clue about what this was all about.

She heard a voice. "Hey buddy, gimme your money!" Ritsu said from afar.

"All right, good," Ui said. "Now Mio-chan, you have to bend the thumb of a grappling hand up, like that. Great. And once you do that, you break the hold! Try it."

Azusa watched as Mio went through the motions. "And then when you're free, make a run for it," Ui said.

But as Mio ran, she bumped into Azusa. "Sorry about that, Azusa."

"No harm done. What are you guys doing?"

"We are utilizing ways to brush off would-be criminals who try to take advantage of us on our travels," Ui explained, showing her the book Yui purchased.

"Self-defense, huh?"

"Yui told me this book has magical powers. I think it's just a handy tool."

A sweatdrop came down Azusa's forehead. "I see what you did there."

"So Ui's training us so that there won't be any problems and Yui will be all right," Mio added.

"Uh-huh."

"Azunyan," Ui said, "you should try this as well." A few sweat drops came down her forehead.

"Fine, just for you, sempai."

A couple of kids drawing in the sand watched the five of them demonstrate. "Okay," said Ui, "in this scenario, Mugi-chan grabs Azunyan from behind."

"Nyahahahahah, hand over the money, you little bitch!" Tsumugi said, sneering like a rate. She wasn't as much into the scenario as much as she was copping a feel.

"We didn't need to hear that from you," Mio deadpanned.

"But that's how it is out there. I'm no gangster, but I know how they talk, how they move, how they take advantage...that type of stuff."

"In this case," Ui went on, "Azunyan, you kick Mugi-chan in the shin and run away. Go."

Azusa did so and made a run for it. "Ouch," Mugi said.

"Azunyan, you can head back here, that was just practice."

Ritsu liked the suggestion. "So that's how it's done."

"That's self-defense education for you," Mugi added. The sweat drops continued to come down Azusa's head as if to wonder, is this really necessary?

* * *

The girls went over to a vending machine in the nearby park to have a drink. Ui opted for an apple-mango cocktail. Cracking open the can, she gave it a sip. "This hits the spot."

"I think we should all use the buddy system and not wander away when we go," Mio suggested.

"Well, we're going to have a map with us, so we should be all right," Ritsu assured her.

"Idiot. You were saying the same thing when we were stuck in Kyoto."

"We can always ask strangers."

"But they don't speak Japanese."

Ui turned to Tsumugi. "Hey Mugi-chan, you're good at speaking English, right?"

"Common-speaking level, yes. But I am learning the language as I go along."

"And what if Mugi isn't around?" Mio asked them.

"That would be a problem, but it's important that you brought this up, Mio-chan," Ui said to her.

"That gives me an idea," Ritsu said, pointing to the sky in divine inspiration. "Starting from this point forward, speaking in Japanese is forbidden!"

They all turned to her. "Are you sure?"

"Let's try a different language, like Spanish."

"Spanish?" Ui wondered. "Man, she's really raising the bar."

"We may not be good at Spanish, but let's try to communicate with it."

"Ritsu, we're not considering Mexico—of all places—as a destination," Mio groaned.

"And what if I told you that we're considering Cancun? Ahhhh, maybe a little Spanish will come in hand. ¡Vamos! Let's try it!"

"¡Está bien! ¡No vamos a hablar en japonés!" Ui said.

"That's not bad," Mio said to her in their native tongue.

"¡Bien! ¿Dónde está la tienda de las tortas muy deliciosas?" The others laughed.

"What the hell did she just say?" Ritsu asked Tsumugi. "Was she cursing at me?"

"I don't believe so..."

Azusa knew this. She had learned a little Spanish back at the school. "The question was: 'Do you know if there is a shop that sells scrumptious cakes?'"

"¡Sí! Cien puntos para la Señorita Nakano!"

"100 points for you, Azusa," Mio added.

"So you're going to be asking for something like that?" Ritsu wondered. "In Spanish?"

"Voy a pedir sólo cuando nos dirigimos a México."

"There are other countries that also speak Spanish as a primary language too," Mio deadpanned. "Like Spain."

"Anyway," Ritsu went on, "you have to know other stuff, like the names of famous places and hotels."

Ui posed the question. "¿Dónde está mi hotel? ¿Sabe usted dónde se encuentra?"

"Dammit, are you a friggin' natural at this or what?" Ritsu asked, shocked.

"That, of course, mean 'Where's my hotel? Do you know where it's located?'" Azusa said, triggering sweat drops.

"There are a lot of hotels!"

"The locals in wherever we're going can show us where to go if we know the name of the hotel we want to visit," Mio told Ritsu as Tsumugi kept her ears open.

"Going back to talking normally, the word hotel is universal, is it not?" Ui asked the others.

"You need to pronounce it correctly, too," Azusa added.

"Back at class a few weeks back before our break," said Mio, "the teacher told us that they wouldn't understand anything like 'agua, por favor,' or something like that."

"So, in this case, how would you pronounce it?" Ui asked her.

"Just quickly say, 'aguaporfavor,' and that would do it."

Ui felt a breeze surround her as she took stock in a breath of fresh air. "They say a man can't survive without his water."

Tsumugi chimed in. "Maybe using gestures instead of just indistinct speech would do the trick. That's universal, too."

Ui fell to her knees, raising a hand in distress as if she was about to die of thirst.

"I guess it's not easy to understand that you would want water," Ritsu said to the others.

"And by the way," Ui said, getting up, "that was a 'What Would Yui Do?' situation."

Mugi giggled. "That's more like saying, 'Help, I'm choking!' Like that." Going back on her knees, Ui swayed her arms to her left.

"Is that a Bon-Odori?" Ritsu wondered.

"No, that's rain!"

Ui snapped her fingers. "¡Cien puntos para la Señorita Kotobuki!"

"You don't have to speak in Spanish anymore, we get it," Azusa deadpanned.

"Okay Ui-chan, so you'll show 'water', but what about your need to drink it? How will you portray that?" Ritsu wanted to know. Ui swayed her hands to the left, then drew them to her chest. Ritsu had to laugh. "A prayer for rain?"

She pointed at her mouth. "Oh dear," Azusa replied.

"Laughter?" Ui pantomimed plucking a familiar string instrument. "Koto?" By this point, Ui was playing a game of charades the way her younger sister would play it. Then she crossed her arms.

"Don't," Azusa deciphered. "Warai koto ja nai. Don't laugh." Ui nodded. "As if we're going to do that, sempai!"

Mio and Ritsu were similarly unimpressed with the charades game.

"100 more points for you, Azusa-chan!"

"It still doesn't make any sense, regardless."

"I doubt that people abroad can understand what 'koto' stands for," Ritsu said, an eyebrow raised.

"Uh, Ricchan, I'm actually half-foreigner, so, yeah, I can understand that."

"You're one of the few exceptions."

Ui bowed her head in shame. "I wonder if Yui is going to be all right now..."

"I think we're also moving away from the subject of traveling as it is," Azusa added.

"That reminds me," Tsumugi added. "Do you guys have a passport?"

They all turned, shocked. "Ladies, I think we know what we gotta get next," Ui said to them as the summer glow glistened on the leaves of the park.

* * *

"So they forgot about the passports?" Hideki asked Satoshi over at the same park the girls went to months ago.

"That was never a key talking point back at home. Do you realize how much those things cost?"

"How much are we talking, Sato?"

"Those things cost 11,000 yen each!"

"Are you serious? Those are expensive!"

"Yeah, but they're all worth it if you need to leave the country."

"So let me get this straight: your older sister has to head essentially downtown with the others to purchase a passport at 11,000 yen a pop."

"Pretty much."

"Damn. Was she able to afford it?"

"well, let me tell you what happened after they got the news. It's a long process, and a lot of stuff needs to be gathered. For Nee-chan, I also had to help in some way."

"Who, you? You, Sato?"

"Had to."

"Spill the beans."

* * *

Back at the Hirasawa house, some other business was in order. Ui looked at her old passport and saw that her it showed her as a kid. "Those were the days," she said, taking a look at her passport which was issued on June 9, 1995, and would expire June 9, 2000.

"Was that you back then, onee-chan?" Yui asked.

"That's me. Don't I look cute in this one or what, Yui?"

"Onee-chan, you're always cute, even now."

"Anyway, this won't cut the mustard, so to speak."

"Agreed. When it's out of date, it's out of date."

"The others are also going to have to muster up the cash to get their own. I think Mugi-chan already got her own, but I don't know if hers is still valid. It might be close to expiring."

"First off," Mio texted the crew the Akiyama house while on her laptop, "you're gonna need a self-addressed post card, and if you have it, any expired passports you have. After that, you'll need a passport photo and two copies of a passport application which you can obtain from the government office. Next, you will need a parental consent form, since you're under age 20. We will all need this because none of us have turned 20 yet. Next, you will need an identification card. In this case, it can either be a driver's license, a health insurance certificate, or a student id card. Since we are still students, we can use the latter. When you head to the government office, be sure to have a pen ready so that you can fill out the required paperwork."

"Hoooooweeee!" Ui exclaimed. "We got a lot of stuff to get. I don't know if this is supposed to be applying for a passport or it's supposed to be a scavenger hunt disguised as the process itself."

"I don't know, onee-chan," Yui said, "but in any case, it looks like you got a lot of work to do. If you want, I'll help you out so we can get this out of the way."

"You sure?"

"You deserve to get out there, onee-chan. I'll help you get there."

"Great." Ui yawned, "Oh man, the times, they sure are a-changing..."

"Yes, they are."

"I think there was a photo for preliminary exams that I had a while back," Ritsu said back in her bedroom, rummaging through her stash of digital curios, a.k.a. her personal Pony camera. She took a look at her school photo, and pouted. "Ugh, this looks kinda ugly. A school uniform for a passport? That looks so fucking wrong...crud." She stared at the ceiling, lazy as ever. "I think I may need to do a new one. Shit."

Azusa was also checking the list of items needed. "An ID card, huh? And she said that our school identification could work in this case. I guess that takes care of that. I'll just use the schoolbook for that one." She rattled off the rest of the items while feeding Ton-chan.

Mio went back to texting. "The day after tomorrow, have everything with you, and we'll go through the process. That is all," she said via SMS. She pressed the send button to all the members of HTT.

* * *

The next day, Jun and Ui were conversing about the plan. "So you're heading off overseas too, huh?" Jun asked her.

"That's right."

"Well, I'm not going to go overseas just yet. I mean, it's pretty pricey to go to those places you're telling me. And to even buy that passport? Gosh, I wouldn't dream of going abroad right now, you know, with the economy as it is and all that?"

"You need to make one as well, just in case. One of these days, you might be going with us, and you're gonna need the same passport we're purchasing."

"That's gonna be my decision, and my decision only."

"Awww. That's Jun Suzuki for you. Always independent and carefree, as well as a good bassist."

"You know me too well. Hello, here is someone we know too well as well."

"Miss Sawako, hello!" It was Miss Sawako Yamanaka, hanging around a photo booth.

"Oh, you guys, hey there. What's up?"

"Good afternoon, Miss Sawako," Jun said.

"Good afternoon."

"Miss Sawako, are you also getting passport photos as well?" Ui asked her.

"Not really, I'm taking a photo so that I can join a sports club in the area."

"A sports club, Miss Sawako?" Jun asked. "Hey, I see where this is going."

"I get it," said Ui, staring at her midsection. "You want to keep in shape, right? Nothing wrong with that. I run every day, so it's all good."

She covered her waist. "Wh...where are you looking at?"

"Your waist is fine, Miss Sawako. You don't have to overwork yourself, you know."

"You're one to talk."

Jun snickered as she picked up a piece of paper.. "Hey, you dropped this."

"And what's with that weird look, Ui-chan?"

She placed a finger to her lips. "The more you become suspicious, the more likely I am to spill the beans. Not like they would care, but I would do it still...whatever you have to do is whatever you have to do, and we support whatever you have to do, because you are our teacher. Whoop-de-doo!"

Jun looked at the photo sheet. "Miss Sawako, here."

"Miss Sawako, that looks a bit intimidating," Ui remarked in a sleazebag manner.

She took the photos. "Well...I was...nervous, that's all...Do you think I should make another one?"

"Don't waste your money, Miss Sawako. It's good. We were only pulling your leg. Besides, we need to use the booth, too."

"Speaking of which, why do you guys needs a passport? Are you guys traveling out of the country?"

"Pretty much."

Sawako's ears perked up. "For real? What places are you considering?"

"I don't know...so far, me and the rest of the club were throwing around Hawaii, New York City, England, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Finland...we're still in the process."

"I see."

"They're planning to do this following graduation," Jun added as an aside.

"Ohhhh. But I'd rather see them plan on studying for exams first."

"One can never stop an undying ambition once the wheels are set in motion."

"Miss Sawako," Ui asked, "have you ever gone out of the country to do some sightseeing?"

"When I was in college, oh yes. I did plenty."

"Cool. Tell us where you went."

And the cat ran out of the bag like shot of lightning. "Does Okinawa count?"

"Miss Sawako, that is part of Japan," Jun said.

"So you haven't left the country after all," Ui replied. "It's all right. It's not your fault. And you are not alone."

"I know that!" she pouted, crossing her arms. "There is no need for you to have any pity for me. I don't need it from you, even though you are more than willing to. I wanted to brag that I traveled farther than you guys as of right now."

"That's not much to brag about," Jun deadpanned. "And if they muster up the cash and get the passports, they'll have your number in a hurry."

Ui brought up the question. "All right then, how about we all go together, Miss Sawako?"

"The first foreign travel...with my students, huh?" Miss Sawako took stock in the possibility. "Sorry, but I can't do it."

"Okay then, will it be on your honeymoon, Miss Sawako?"

She blushed. "Oh, to be going out on a honeymoon...pure euphoria. But I'm still single, though. But who cares, it's heaven!"

"I do believe she's lost it," Jun deadpanned to Ui with a shaded face and a sweat drop on her head.

"You think?"

* * *

"All right, place, places, we're gonna go ahead and do this," Ritsu told Mio as she held the camera back in Mio's bedroom. "Ready?"

Mio tied her hair back in the form of one of her idols, Yoko Hikasa. "Ready." A snap.

"Hmmm, not bad." Ritsu trimmed the photo to European Union standards with Mio's help, and Mio did same thing with Ritsu's.

* * *

Azusa looked at her documentation as she left the government office. She had certified copies of her family register, a certificate of resident, a health insurance certificate, a student ID card, a personal stamp, the completed applications, the postcard, her old expired passport and the completed parental consent form. In Ui's case, because her parents, Susumu and Aki, were out of the country, Yui signed the consent form as a witness/guardian.

"All systems go," she said to herself. "I think I'm ready to get this out of the way."

-OOO-

There was a modest queue in the prefectural passport office down at Minato Ward. Not a lot of people were waiting to be assisted, and the band picked a relatively light day to get everything filled out. This played right into their hands.

"Here we are," Ritsu said to the crew.

"It's been a while since I've done this," Ui said to the others. "I remember when I was with Mom and Dad and they submitted everything for me and I just watched. Now I have to do all this. By the way, Mugi-chan, thanks for coming with us, even though we know you passport is still valid."

"Just had a new version of mine's come in about a week ago, so the timing is right," she replied. "And the pleasure is all mine's."

"Guys," Ritsu said to them, "do you guys have everything you need?"

"Have it here!" Azusa replied.

"All in!" said Yui.

"Good to go!" Mio remarked. "Are you good, Ritsu."

Ritsu flashed a thumbs-up. "Yep! Hold on a second." She opened her bag. Something was missing. "Awww, dammit."

"Is something wrong?"

"I forgot my schoolbook," she whispered through her sniffles.

"What?" they all exclaimed.

"Should we head back?" Ui asked.

"I got Satoshi to help me out. Let me go call him." A few pressed of her mobile.

* * *

Back at the Tainaka house, Satoshi was busy doing more laundry work when the land line rang. "Tainaka residence."

"Ah, Satoshi, are you busy?"

"I'm just doing the laundry, Nee-chan. Do you need something?"

"I need you to find my schoolbook."

"Don't you have it with you, Nee-chan?"

"Sometimes, your Nee-chan is in a rush, especially when her significant other is waking her out of her sleep. It can't be helped."

Satoshi entered the room. "Oh my God! Nee-chan, this place is a mess!"

"I didn't have the time to clean my bed. I told you, I was in a rush. I'm sorry."

"Well I'm not going to clean this crap up for you once I bring you your schoolbook. Where's it located?"

"Be nice to you Nee-chan, Satoshi. Check under the bed."

"Oh, found it. It was peeking under there."

"Fabulous! Good. Now, do you know where to find me?"

"Just where the heck did you go, Nee-chan?"

"I'm in Minato Ward, at the Passport Office."

"Passport Office? Over there?" Satoshi was stunned. "You mean to tell me you're going to go traveling? You never told me about this before!"

"We'll save the details for later. For now, I want you to head to the train station. I will text you directions on how to get to the Passport Office, all right? Follow each and every one of them and do not get lost. Got it?"

"Nee-chan, I'm still taking the laundry out of the dryer and now I have this to deal with. You never give me a break at all."

"Satoshi, if you do this for me, I'll cook you an awesome meal later tonight."

"Fine. I will surrender to Nee-chan's home-style cooking for this. I'm heading off to the train station now. I'll see you in a bit."

"Thanks, Satoshi. Sorry, okay? Love you."

"Love you too, Nee-chan." As he hung up, Satoshi brought the book with him and with a sigh, got on his bike and made the dash for the train station.

* * *

"Augh, it's hot," Ritsu said. "Augh, ¡El Scorcho! ¡Ay carumba! Sorry, everyone."

Ui brought some fans. "Take one. This should cool you guys down."

"Anyway, is it really necessary to wait outside?" Azusa asked, exhausted.

"Let's go back in." They all relished in the air-conditioning as Ritsu continued to give Satoshi directions and the people in the queue submitted the documentation. "I could use some Gatorade right now..."

"When we're done, we'll get something to drink and something to eat," Azusa said to her.

"This is on me, everyone; I am sorry for holding you all up," Ritsu said in her mea culpa. She heard her cell phone vibrate. "Satoshi?"

"Nee-chan, I'm outside. Head over here."

"Be there in a bit." She hung up. "Guys, I'll be back."

"Hey Nee-chan, look: you literally made me go across town just to save your skins today," Satoshi said, handing Ritsu her schoolbook. "The laundry's not even finished, I had to take three trains and dash here on my two-wheeler just to get to the office, and if you had gotten this with you beforehand, I could have cleaned up your room too."

"Thanks. Again, I'm sorry, Satoshi. I didn't take the initiative to have everything with me, okay. But I'm thankful you're here."

"I'm not gonna be there every friggin time, Nee-chan, you gotta help yourself, too." Ritsu scruffed his hair. "But I guess I'm gonna be eating well tonight. Something like that."

"You sure will."

"I'm gonna head back home and take care of the laundry, okay Nee-chan? You owe me dinner."

"Got it, Satoshi! See you!" And he took off on his bike, racing back to the nearby train station on the way home.

"Mio-chan, what's Ricchan's brother like?" Ui asked back inside the room.

"The best younger brother money can't buy is how I would put it. Similar to Ritsu. Eyes are similar, personality is similar. Satoshi Tainaka is very free-spirited and independent for someone his age. He's a bit shy, though."

"A chip off the old block, huh?"

"You can put it that way, Ui."

"I would love to have a younger brother. But all I have is Yui. That's it. It's a drag. I don't think Yui would look good in a boys' outfit."

"No, she wouldn't," Mio said, disgusted. "And Mugi? Please plug your nostrils."

"What? Oh, I'm sorry!" They were bleeding at the possibility. "Glad I have some tissues.

"I guess it would be good to have a younger brother," Azusa said.

"Jeez, Nee-chan, you have to be a bit careful, all right?" Ui said to her, imitating Satoshi as she envisioned him to be.

"A brother like Ui-sempai would be an interesting thought."

"Ah! Then it's more like 'My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute!' Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai!" Kirino Kousaka, send help!

Ritsu skipped back, the schoolbook in hand. "All right party peoples, now we are ready to get this done. We have all our eggs in one basket. Let's do it! Here we go! ¡Ya Se Armo!"

* * *

The ladies queued up. First, it was Ui, followed by Mio, then Ritsu, and then Azusa. Tsumugi, already having completed her paperwork and her passport issued, watched the process as an observer. Three others were ahead of Ui.

"Finally, we'll be submitting our applications," Mio said to the five of them.

"How about you go ahead of me?" Ui said, going behind her.

"Are you sure? We should go according to our numbers."

"Nope, you can go right ahead."

"If you say so."

"Next," said the lady at the counter processing the applications.

"Here you go," Mio said, handing her all the required paperwork.

"All right, let's see what we have here." She took a look. "I'm sorry, but actually, we can't use this photo."

"Excuse me?"

"The space at the top can't be covered," she replied, pointing. "We have to make sure that this photo can be seen clearly."

-OOO-

Back to the drawing board. "Mio, exactly why did you decide to tie your hair back?" Ritsu asked in her second-guessing outside the room. "Personally, I don't think it was really necessary."

"I wanted to look like Yoko Hikasa, because she's my idol."

"Yo! This is just a passport photo. A regular mug shot. We're not doing any modeling here. We're not going to perform a live or do any talk shows of that nature. At least not yet. It's just a friggin' passport photo. Natural look ONLY. Geez, I guess I'm not the one holding this group up after all; it's the Yoko wannabe in front of my face who happens to ironically be my ladyfriend!"

"Shut up, Ritsu!"

"Ow!" A headbump. "I'm not going to take back what I said either after that! You know I'm right, now!"

"In her defense, Ritsu-sempai," Azusa said, "foreigners often mistake us for kids because of our height and our facial features. She didn't understand the protocol, that's all."

"I guess with that being said, they'll be mistaking you for a grade schooler, Azunyan," Ui replied in a smart-alecky fashion.

Azusa took offense. "I would say the same thing for you, Ui-sempai."

"Not really. I have rarely heard TV stories of grade school students able to create culinary delights in the manner of the owners of Michelin-star restaurants."

"Huh?"

"In short, they can't cook as well as I do."

"Ah."

Mio was in despair. "Well, what am I gonna do now?"

"We can always make another one," Tsumugi said to her.

"When we were entering the office," Ui added, "I saw a queue of people use the booth in the lobby for passport photos. You can go ahead and use it. Me and Jun-chan used it yesterday without any problems."

Mio went to the corner of the lobby that had the passport photos. She opened the curtain and went inside. "I'll go close the curtain for you," Ui said, doing so.

"Welcome," the machine said. "Please select an option from the screen." Mio pressed a blue button on the right, indicating a solo shot for passport photo use.

"That will be the last time we ever consider trying to style up for a shot," Ritsu said to the others, a hand on her right hip. "From this point forward, we'll go all natural."

Azusa sympathized with the others. "Gee whiz, I guess it takes a lot of time and preparation to make a passport like this, no?"

"Got that right, Azunyan," Ui concurred.

"But if something is hard to achieve," Ritsu added "it's worth the time and effort to overcome those challenges and get it done. That's how we roll in this club."

"Couldn't have said it any better myself."

"To begin," the machine said, "press the PHOTO button. The camera will take two shots." Mio was still primping her hair.

"When we're done," Ui said, "I tire of this; we're getting some lunch. It's on me."

"You're treating us?" Ritsu asked, surprised. "Awesome."

"Food seems to be the only motivation, for you, really," Azusa groaned.

"That was a 'What Would Yui Do?' situation, mixed in with a little of me to it," Ui explained. "In reality, at this point of the day, for Yui, it's ice cream or bust."

The machine counted down. "Beginning in 3...2...1..."

Mio couldn't help laughing at the thought as the camera snapped.

If there was ever anything wrong about the Hirasawa sisters, it was the fact that they were foodies with sweet teeth and a youthful mentality that wasn't going to go away for quite some time.

"Quit making me laugh!" Mio snapped.

The machine counted down. "Second shot it 3...2...1..."

"It's all right; it's better to be smiling," Ui said.

"You can't use that for the passport; they'll reject it," Tsumugi said. The camera snapped.

"Okay, we're going to have to do this again, because you idiots would not shut the fuck up while I was having my photo taken," Mio said. "My yen is going out the window here. Give me a break and hush."

"The camera will take two shots," the machine said. A few bang adjustments were in order. "Beginning in 3...2...1..."

A fan peeked through the curtain as the first shot was taken. "What the...? Wait a second." As the snap was taken, Mio opened the curtain, took Ui's fan, broke it and threw it away. "You really want me to kick your ass, don't you?"

"Whoops, I thought it was hot in there."

"It's not hot."

The machine's countdown went on. "Second shot in 3...2...1..."

"Ritsu, knock it off!" She knew that the victory sign in the background was hers. As the snap was taken, Ui gave Ritsu a headbump. "Fucking shit, I have to do this again! Ritsu, you owe me the money I lost from having crappy photos taken." Azusa, looked on, disgusted. Actually, she was also disgusted at Ui for delaying things a bit further.

"This time, it should work," Mio said, inserting the money. All the money she had left was for the processing fee, and if this screwed up, Ritsu was going to have to pay.

"The camera will take two shots," the machine said after pressed the blue button. "Beginning in 3...2...1..." No issues with the snap. "Second shot in 3...2...1..." No issues with that snap either. Everything was good. Mio took out some scissors, took out the other image, and replaced it with the new one.

The girls returned to the passport office. Mio, of course, was first. "Do you have everything ready?" the lady at the counter said.

"This should do it," Mio replied.

"Much better. We'll take it." The lady at the counter produced a receipt and handed Mio her schoolbook and ID documentation. "You should get a postcard in the mail within seven business days indicating that your passport is ready. Please be sure to have this receipt with you as well as your fee when you return here. Thank you and have a good day. Next!"

Ui brought her materials to the counter. "Here you go."

"Accepted." She produced a receipt and handed Ui her schoolbook and ID documentation. "You should get a postcard in the mail within seven business days indicating that your passport is ready. Please be sure to have this receipt with you as well as your fee when you return here. Thank you and have a good day. Next!"

Ritsu's turn. "Everything is here ma'am."

"Accepted." The lady produced a receipt and handed Ritsu her schoolbook and ID documentation. "You should get a postcard in the mail within seven business days indicating that your passport is ready. Please be sure to have this receipt with you as well as your fee when you return here. Thank you and have a good day. Next!"

Azusa rounded out the four making the purchase. "Here, Miss."

She took a look. "Looks good." And she produced a receipt and handed Azusa her schoolbook and ID documentation. "You should get a postcard in the mail within seven business days indicating that your passport is ready. Please be sure to have this receipt with you as well as your fee when you return here. Thank you and have a good day. Next!"

* * *

There was an ice cream store near the passport office that was frequented by tourists and government officials. "I thought we were going to buy lunch," Azusa asked Ui at a bench outside the store.

"Change of plans," she said.

"You still owe us lunch, Ui-sempai. Well, now it's dinner."

"Finally, that's out of the way," Mio said, savoring her scoop of chocolate thunder.

"That took a while. OW!" Ritsu got a headbump.

"Idiot, you were the one holding us up in the end."

"No, you were, with your crap-ass photo."

"Do you want me to send you flying across the street? I've had enough of you getting on my bad side, and my patience is starting to run thin."

"Okay, I give up, Master. Don't hurt me more!"

"Sheesh, grow up, with you? Baka Ritsu."

"Okay, let's get along, ladies," Ui said. "Enough."

"You weren't helping with the fan either!" they all exclaimed at her.

"Guilty as charged. And it's back to savoring these cones. Good stuff, no?"

"I guess it runs in your family that you have a penchant for sweet things."

"Me and Yui always do. Well, especially Yui. Mom and Dad also love to savor sweet stuff as well. But we always make room for the rest. That's been a part of our credo for a while: having all the bases covered when enjoying a meal."

"Bases, huh...how are the Giants doing?" Ritsu asked.

"I fear the Chiba Lotte Marines have got their number this year."

"Can't win 'em all, I guess."

Mio took a look at her photos. "I wonder how many photos I made."

"A hefty amount. Eight, to be exact, with one being used for the passport."

"And what should I do with the rest of these?"

"Scrapbook, Mio. Use this as a memory from having to purchase your first passport in a long time."

"You realized that I could have just had one of these in my hand, if you and Ui hadn't interfered, right?"

"Oh well. Que sera, sera. OW!" Another headbump. "I deserve it, for all the suffering I caused my dearest one, everybody. Guilty as charged."

Eventually, Mio broke out in laughter. She had to. And it spread like wildfire.

"What's up?" Ui asked Ritsu.

"Take a look. Says it all, sunshine."

Ritsu was laughing, then Mugi was laughing, then Ui and Azusa were laughing. What turned into a waste of money turned out to be a serendipity forged by the companionships of her club, the Light Music Club. They all laughed at the whole situation that they all conquered themselves. It was easy for them to get a good laugh out of it, especially with all the heavy lifting done. All that was left was for Mio, Ritsu, Ui and Azusa to return to the Passport Office to pick up their passports and pay their respective fees. That was 11,000 yen a head.

The good thing was that Mugi was able to help cover the fees, although Mio's, Ritsu's and Azusa's parents did chip in, respectively. "We're getting this in a week, so keep your receipts with you. If you want, I'll cover for your fees."

"We never expected anything less from the de facto treasurer of this wonderful club," Ritsu said.

"With this out of the way, we can get back to studying."

"Do you have an idea where we're heading off to?" Azusa asked.

"We have to think about that as well," Ritsu said.

"Makes you wonder where we'll be headed," Ui asked.

"I say a live concert in England!" Mio exclaimed.

"Hawaii, Hawaii!" Ritsu clamored.

"USA, USA!" Azusa pleaded.

"Or the hot springs!" Tsumugi replied.

"No passports needed if it's here," Ritsu clarified as Ui gave her orange sorbet a nice lick.

"That's right, sorry about that."

Ui looked to the sky, lost in thought and reflection. She still thought that Australia would be a good option. It was closer, the food was wonderful, the people were friendly, and the likes of the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru and the Sydney Opera House were icons that couldn't be replicated. "Guys, I think we should travel twice."

"What?" They all asked.

"The first time will be just me, Ricchan, Mio-chan and Mugi-chan. The second time will be all five of us, when Azunyan graduates."

"So we're all going together?" Azusa was surprised by the suggestion. "Are you sure that's a good idea."

"Nothing will ever tear this group apart. For next April, bear with the loss of being left behind. But when the following April comes, we're going to send you to where you want to go, which is New York—first class. Sounds good?"

"Actually, we're going to go on a tour when you graduate. What great about this is that when it comes to our finances, Mugi-chan is here to always give us a helping hand. We'll visit the hot springs, the UK, Hawaii, Australia, Canada, Mexico and the rest of the USA. If we're going to tour the world, or go wherever we want to go, we must do this as Hokago Tea Time: United as One. And we will do just that. Sounds like a plan?"

"Wow Ui," Ritsu said, clapping her hands. "I'm impressed by your commitment, and it does sound like a plan. I'm in."

"So am I," Mio replied.

Tsumugi liked Ui's spirit. "I'm in."

Azusa approved. "Ui-sempai, this is our destiny."

"With that said," Ritsu replied, getting up, "let's do some shopping for our future travels."

"Let's roll, Ricchan!"

"Onward, HTT!" And so they did. The countdown to the world tour was in full effect.

* * *

There was a shop in the neighborhood that sold luggage, tote bags and carry-on suitcases. The girls were in luck because everything was on sale. "Man, we can pack up and vamoose outta here tomorrow," Ritsu said, "but we still have to pick up our passports next week."

"Not to mention the exams have a higher priority," Mio reminded her.

"I know, I don't have to be reminded."

Ui called out to her. "Ricchan, Ricchan, take a look at this!"

"Hmmm?"

Ui held a travel eye blind set. "Use this to sleep during the classes. It's genius."

"Mmmm, I'll consider the offer. Vielen Dank."

"That wouldn't work," Mio deadpanned. She was checking out the packages of instant rice, soup onigiri and other instant food items available. "Hey Ritsu, you're gonna need this."

"But of course. In the spirit of the true Japanese woman, you must have your instant rice."

"No Rice, No Life," Ui concluded, stroking her chin. "Ain't that the truth."

"We're definitely going to need that, too," Azusa concurred.

"If we're short on money, we'll be like street musicians and earn some."

"That's not gonna be necessary, I don't think," Tsumugi said, clearing her throat. "But I suppose playing a gig in a foreign land wouldn't be so bad right about now."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Hokago Tea Time!" Ui said in perfect English.

"Forever yours, forever HTT," Tsumugi said with a grin.

"Actually, in English, it would be After School Tea Time," Azusa clarified.

"I think there are people in the States that would know us better by HTT and Hokago Tea Time, and I'll tell you why," Ui said. "There is a popular punk band in Germany whose English name is The Dead Pants, but is generally recognized around the world by their German name: Die Toten Hosen. The point I'm trying to make here is that it doesn't have to be completely English to be a band people will remember. We have always been known as Hokago Tea Time, or HTT, and no matter where we go in this world, we will always be remembered as that."

The others looked at Ui with surprised looks, and soon after, they accepted that this was not just a local name...it had become an international name. It would not take long before the validity of Ui's argument was realized during the school festival later that year. It was pointless to change the name for any audience or any culture. No matter where this band went, no matter what country they would perform in, no matter where life took them...the name, the initials, their insignia and their crest remained the same.

"But you know, we're going to have to take our instruments as well," Ritsu said, hands on her hips.

"When you're touring, that is something you have to get used to," Ui added. "But I wouldn't mind a little air when we're flying on a jumbo jet en route to a show."

"I don't think anyone will believe us!"

"Si les fans nous donner tort, tant mieux!" Ui responded in French. "If the fans prove us wrong, all the better!"

Mio was nonplussed. "Ease up, Ritsu, no more of your melodrama," she said, waving it off.

"So wherever we decide to go, it's going to be the same, huh?" Azusa wondered with cautious optimism.

* * *

One week later, Ui, Mio, Mugi, Ritsu and Azusa returned to the Hirasawa house for another meeting after picking their new blue biometric passports at the office. Miss Sawako also joined in just to check how her finest were doing.

"This looks so friggin' awesome!" Ui said. "It's epic!"

"How's that, onee-chan? You like it?"

"I love it. I'm gonna use this when we go next April!"

"Uh, everybody else has one as well," Azusa told Yui.

"You lucky bastards," Miss Sawako groaned. "You go one big-ass step ahead of me and now have a chance to head overseas, while I am stuck working out at the gym!"

"Hey, I made you the offer to come with us, Miss Sawako, but you declined," Ui said, wagging a finger. "You snooze, you lose, you miss the boat, hope you're taking note."

"Whatever, whatever, whatever. I will get my passport when me and my hubby go on our honeymoon!"

"But you don't have a hubby yet, Sawa-chan," Ritsu rebutted. "That's the problem."

"Good things come to those who wait! It's true!"

"Okay, do we now know where to go?" Azusa asked.

"Before graduation, we'll go ahead and make a decision then," Ritsu replied.

"Still summer, you know," Ui reminded her. "Plenty of time."

Mio, like last time, had the camera with her. This time, she had Yui take a photo of the girls with their passports.

"Let's study first for the exams, guys," Mio said.

"Of course we will, Mio," Ritsu retorted.

"You sure about that?" Azusa wondered.

"250% percent and counting. It might as well be over 9,000%."

"And so, the countdown to Japan Women's University begins in earnest," Ui said, closing her eyes to take stock in summer winding down across Tokyo, and all of Japan.

* * *

"So that's how it all happened," Hideki said to Satoshi.

"Pretty much. Do you really how long it took me to get from my house to the office?"

"How long."

"One hour."

"One hour?"

"One hour."

"One friggin hour?"

"Yeah, cause there's a lot of traffic, the train was packed, I'm carrying my bike up the stairs, and then I nearly dropped Nee-chan's schoolbook. Good thing I got awesome hand-eye coordination."

"So did she explain everything to you?"

"Apparently she more than explain. I got treated to a dinner, and actually she did more than that. My own passport was expiring, so she bought me a new one. Out of her own allowance."

"You're lucky to have a sister like that; it's not fair."

"Well, it's safe to say that we're even. Now it's back to the usuals."

"What are the usuals?"

"Chores, schoolwork, getting nagged by Nee-chan again and again..."

"Oh. THE usuals."

"Yes. THE usuals." Satoshi's mobile rang. "Oh, it's her. Nee-chan, what's up?"

Ritsu was clearly annoyed on the other line. "Satoshi, what's taking you so long? I've been waiting two hours for you to bring the food, hurry up!"

"I'll be there in a bit, sorry."

"Oh, and...thank you again for earlier..."

"Don't mention it, Nee-chan. It's the least I could do."

"If you want, you can bring your friends along; I got enough for everybody, Mom and Dad."

"Hold on a bit." Satoshi turned to Hideki. "Did you want to have dinner with us?"

"For real, Sato?" His stomach was growling. "I guess I won't mind."

"I have a guest that's coming with me," said Satoshi to Ritsu. "Will that be fine?"

"Absolutely. See you then!"

Satoshi hung up. "Let's go, Hideki."

"Oh yeah, I'm feeling like I could eat a mountain out of a molehill!"

"Uh, what?"

"Sorry. Me and my eccentricities, Sato."

"I could never expect anything less of you, Hideki Motojima."

"By the way, Sato, do you know where they will be going?"

"We'll leave it to the power of their destiny to determine all that." And the two of them walked to the Tainaka house, the memories of five girls planning for the future fresh in their minds.

* * *

**WALK-ON! ALL OVER AGAIN OMAKE**

**The End**

A/N: I decided to bring in one more chapter for this wonderful fic, because I wanted to send it off properly. I didn't know of any other way to do it.

Thank you very much for reading Walk-ON! All Over Again.


End file.
